Remembering the Past, Seeing the Future
by RoseBelikovaXDD
Summary: What happens when the gang and others are forced to read about Rose's life? Secrets are being revealed, hearts are going to be broken. They can't escape if they don't read all 6 books. Another "Rose and the others read VA books." Rated T for swearing.
1. Prologue

**Hey! It's me again. Before I'll go on with the story, I want to clarify some things**

**-Yep, this is another _Rose and the gang reads VA books _story -or whatever you want to call it-, but I decided to give it a try *grin*.**

**-YES, I'm doing all 6 books (and maybe Bloodlines, but it didn't come out in my country, so I don't think so … ).**

**-This takes place right after the kiss between Rose and Dimitri in _Frostbite_, and the story'll be in Rose's POV. I think I'll change in 3rd POV too, but I'll tell you when that happenes ;).**

**-The Belikovs, Abe, Jill and Sydney will come in the story when they'll read Shadow Kiss. Sorry *apologetic smile*.**

**If you still have more questions, feel free to ask. I'll try to update every day, but I don't promise anything. I hope it'll be not be too OOC *bites nails in frustration* .**

**That being said, happy reading :D !**

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**RPOV**

Dimitri left the gym, and I felt a goofy smile cross my lips. The kiss with Dimitri was the best thing that happened this whole winter. Oh God.

Still grinning, I picked up my bag and made my way towards the gym lockers, to change in my usual clothes, my dark blue skinny jeans and a black tank top. I changed in them and left the gym. But when I was about close the gym door, two guardians I didn't recognize blocked my way. They looked like they were in their mid-twenties and were just a little bit shorter than Dimitri. One had dark blond hair and brown eyes and one had light brown hair with a tint of red with very light blue eyes that could be mistaken with grey.

"Rose Hathaway?" the one with dark blond hair asked me. I could hear a very strong Romanian accent, and it sounded funny when he said my name.

"The one and only." I said, narrowing my eyes at him. What would two guardians want from me?

"My name is Alin and he is-" he said gesturing to the blue eyed guardian.

"I don't care who you are," I said, cutting him off. "What do you want from me?" I asked, crossing my arms over my chest and putting on a brave look.

"I was going to tell you if you didn't cut me off," said Alin. "We are here to escort you somewhere. Come with us," he said, taking my arm.

"Wait," I said, releasing from his grip. "Where are you going to take me?"

"You're going to find out when we get there. Don't worry, Rose. Nothing bad will happen to you," he said, taking my arm again and I gave up. They were going to make me go there –whatever _there_ means- anyway.

They were both sitting beside me, Alin on my right and the other guardian on my left, talking to each other in a language I didn't understand –Romanian, I think-.

When we were near the gates, the guardians that were on the watch recognized them and opened the gates. Interesting. We were now walking through the forest, my patience fading away with every minute. Why the hell would they bring me to a forest? Crazy thoughts were crossing my mind. Like, _they want to rape me _or _they are helping strigoi and want to kill me._

"We arrived," the blue eyed guardian said, shaking me out of my thoughts. I looked up and saw a thing like a headquarter. It was small and made of metal, with almost no windows and just one door.

"What are we doing here?" I asked, studying the "headquarter".

"Enter," Alin said, and I did as he said.

When I stepped inside, I windened my eyes. There were Lissa, Christian, Dimitri, Eddie, Alberta, Stan, Kirova, Adrian and my mom. They were all sitting in a circle, Lissa near Christian, then Eddie, Adrian, my mom, Kirova, Stan, Alberta, Dimitri then again Lissa.

The room was super small with white walls, and in a corner was a table with a big box and an envelope on it. There was a red carpet in the middle of the room, and some withered plants in a corner. How boring, ugh. They had enough money to build this … thing, but didn't have enough money to put some nice things inside? Shelfish.

When they heard the door opening, they all looked at me like they were waiting for an explination.

"Don't look at me," I said, shaking my head. "I'm just as clueless as all of you, guys."

Lissa sighed then looked at Dimitri. "Rose, there's a box and an envelope on the table," said Dimitri. _No shit Sherlock_, I thought. "Pick it up and put them in the middle of the circle."

I nodded and made my way to the table. I held the box in one hand and the envelope in the other hand. Lissa patted the spot next to her and I sat down, putting what I was carring in the middle of the circle. I was in between Lissa and Dimitri. Cool.

"Open the envelope," said Christian.

I was about to open it, when I stopped. "Wait," I started. "Why didn't you guys opened it before?"

"Because the guardians that brought us here told us to not open the box nor the envelope when you aren't here, Roza," said Dimitri and I sighed.

"Ok, I'll open it now. The faster we do what it says in that letter, the faster we get out of here, right?" I asked, ripping the envelope.

"Right," everyone said.

Inside the envelope was a letter with my name on it.

"Read the letter, Rose," said my mom.

I nodded and cleared my throat.

_Rosemarie Hathaway (and the others),_

_You are probably wondering why you are here. Well, you are here to read some books._

"Books?" I exclaimed. "There's no way in hell I'm reading those goddammed books!"

"Roza, calm down," Dimitri whispered to me and rubbed my shoulder, and I felt calming down.

_But not some ordinary books. Inside the box are 6 books, the first two are your past, the other 4 are your future. _

"Past? Future? What the fuck?" I asked no one in particular.

"Language," said my mom and I rolled my eyes.

_Read them in their order : Vampire Academy, Fristbite, Shadow Kiss, Blood Promise, Spirit Bound and Last Sacrifice._

"I have to admit, nice books names," I said.

_They are all in Rose's point of view,_

Christian and Adrian laughed. "Ooh, this is going to be good," said Christian.

"Shut up and let me read, or I won't give you the right to have children," I growled, and they paled 4 shades of white. I smirked. "Nice."

_and it explains life through her eyes and mind._

"Oh, that's deep," commented Adrian.

"I can't wait to read those books. I'm pretty sure they explain Rose's big big crush on me," said Christian with his hand over his heart.

I couldn't help it. I laughed. "You wish, fireboy."

_You'll get out of here only when you finish reading all those books. Don't worry, I took care of everything. If you look to your right, there are 10 bedrooms. I decided to make the arrangement, and here it is : Rose with Lissa, Christian with Adrian, _

I bursted out laughing. "Oh, God."

_Eddie with Guardian Belikov, Guardian Petrov with Guardian Hathaway and Guardian Alto with Headmistress Ellen Kirova._

"Wait," said Eddie. "There are 5 pairings, but 10 bedrooms. What the heck?"

"If you'd shut up, you'll find out why," I said.

_I know there are 5 pairings and 10 bedrooms, but there are going to come more people as you read the books. _

I shot Eddie a pointed look.

"Oh," said Eddie.

_There is also a kitchen with a full stocked fridge, a bathroom and a feeder's room, so you have everything you need. You have to understand that those books are very important for you, to avoid the mistakes that'll happen in the future. I'm done._

_Happy reading,_

_RM_

"Let's read, yay!" I said in a fake excited voice. I leaned forward and opened the box, picking up _Vampire Academy_. As soon as I saw who was on the cover, I gasped. "Wow"

"Wha- oh, wow," said Lissa, looking at the book's cover.

"What?" asked Adrian and Eddie.

I showed everyone the cover and the windened their eyes. The cover was a reddish color, with an old photo of me when I was almost 17 years old.

"Whatever, I'll read the back," I said and everyone nodded their heads in agreement.

**Only a true best friend can protect you form you immortal enemies.**

"So fucking true," I said, pumping my fist in the air.

**Lissa Dragomir is a Moroi princess: a mortal vampire with an unbreakable bond to the earth's magic. She must be protected at all times from Strigoi; the fiercest and most dangerous vampires-the ones who never die.**

"They do die," muttered Dimitri.

"So, this book is about Lissa?" asked Adrian.

"If you'd let me finish, you'll find out, you moron," I told him.

**The powerful blend of human and vampire blood that flows through Rose Hathaway, Lissa's best friend, makes her a Dhampir. **

"Woaah. Brand new information," said Christian sarcastically.

**Rose is dedicated**

"Wait. Did anyone just say that Rose is dedicated?" Adrian said. "Shit just got real."

I sighed. "This is going to be a looong day," I muttered.

**to a dangerous life of protecting Lissa from the Strigoi, who are hell-bent on making her one of them.**

"Not with me around," I said.

Lissa smiled at me.

**After two years of illicit freedom, **

Me and Lissa sighed.

**Rose and Lissa are caught and dragged back to St. Vladimir's Academy,**

"Hmm. I wonder who planned all that," I said, looking directly at Dimitri. He chuckled.

**hidden in the deep forests of Montana. Rose will continue her Dhampir education. Lissa will go back to being Queen of the elite Moroi social scene. And both girls will resume breaking hearts.**

There were a round of _oooh's_ and _aaah's_ from the boys. I rolled my eyes.

**Fear made Lissa and Rose run away from St. Vladimir's – inside the Academy's iron gates, their world is even more fraught with danger. **

"The Academy is safe," said Kirova.

I scoffed. "Sure."

**Here, the cutthroat ranks of the Moroi perform unspeakable rituals and their secretive nature and love of the night creates an enigmatic world full of social complexities. Rose and Lissa must navigate through this dangerous world, confront the temptation of forbidden romance, **

Wait. Forbidden romance? Shit.

"Forbidden romance?" asked Lissa. I just staied still.

I looked up at Dimitri, who wore his guardian mask on, but I could see the fear in his eyes.

"I'm sure this blessed book it'll tell who is stuck in this 'forbidden rmance', right Rose?" asked Adrian, smirking at me.

I glared at him. "Shut up, you idiot."

He put his hand over his heart, pouting. "Auch. That hurt, little dhampir. You just staked my heart."

"The world just became a better place," I said, still glaring at him.

"Double ouch," said Adrian. I rolled my eyes and continued reading.

**and never once let their guard down, lest the Strigoi make Lissa one of them forever...**

I could feel Lissa's fear through the bond. I looked at her, and she was staring at the floor. I put an arm around her shoulders.

"Nothing bad it's going to happen, Liss. You're going to have the hottest and most badass guardian here. I won't let anything happen to you," I said to her, and a hint of a smile played on her lips.

"Thank you, Rose," she said, and leaned her head on my shoulders and I rubbed her arm

Christian cleared his throat. "Um.. lonely boyfriend here!"

I stuck my tongue out at him. "Nah, nah. It's obvious that she chose me," I said, kissing the top of Lissa's head and she laughed.

"Aaahh!" screamed Adrian. Then he pointed at me and Lissa. "Lesbians!" Me, Lissa, Adrian, Dimitri and my mom glared at him. "Um .. I-I'll just shut up … now."

"Ok," I started. "Who's going to read the first chapter?" Nobody offered. I sighed. "Ok, I'll read it."

"**Chapter one."**

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**So, tell me how it is. Good? Bad? :D**

**Thank you for reading, and please review!**

**Buh-bye.**


	2. Chapter 1

**I'm back!**

**I just realized that I forgot to put Mia in the last chapter. Sorry. But I'll put her now. And she sits next to Eddie, by the way.**

**Oh, and this chapter has 6,000+ words. XD**

**Enjoy.**

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**RPOV**

"**Chapter one,"** I said out loud and everyone leaned forward. Lissa sat on her belly on the floor with her elbows propped on it and her chin in her hands. I sat with my back against Dimitri's strong arm, I held my knees to my chest and put the book on them.

"It's okay if I sit like this?" I asked Dimitri with my sad puppy face. I knew better than anyone that he can't resist this face.

He sighed and nodded. "Wait," he said and turned to his right so I was leaning against his chest now with my butt in his lap. Then he put his arms around my waist. "Now it's better for both."

I smiled and looked at my mom, who was narrowing her eyes at me and Dimitri, but did nothing else. I turned my attention back on the book and cleared my throat.

**I FELT HER FEAR BEFORE I heard her screams.**

Adrian ooh-ed. "Interesting."

**Her nightmare pulsed into me, shaking me out of my own dream, which had had something to do with a beach and some hot guy rubbing suntan oil on me.**

Lissa, Adrian, Christian, Eddie and Mia laughed. "Only you Rose, only you," said Lissa through laugher.

"Bet it was me. Dreaming of me aleardy, Rosie?" said Christian, wagging his eyebrows at me.

I looked up at him with a disgusted look on my face. "EWW! No. But for your knowledge, it was Chase Crawford, so.."

**Images—hers,not mine— tumbled through my mind: fire and blood, the smell of smoke, the twisted metal of a car.**

Lissa stared at the floor again, and I felt her sadness through the bond. And I'm pretty sure you didn't need one to see her bottom lip trembling. I shot Christian a look then nodded towards Lissa. He did a perfect "O" with his lips then sat on the floor next to her, and put her head on his shoulder, stroking her hair and murmuring something in her ear. Through the bond I felt her calimng down and started reading again.

**The pictures wrapped around me, suffocating me,**

I earned some sympathetic looks from my mom and Eddie, and I felt Dimitri tightening his grip on my waist. Nobody saw it, of course.

**until some rational part of my brain**

"Which is smaller than a flea or even inexistent," said Christian, and I glared at him.

**reminded me that this wasn't **_**my **_**dream.**

"No. Yours was with me rubbing your back," said Christian, wagging his eyebrows at me again.

"How many times do I have to tell you? I was Chase Crawford!" I exclaimed.

"I look like Chase Crawford," he said, defending himself.

I scoffed. "Sure. And my head is bald," I said.

**I woke up, strands of long, dark hair sticking to my forehead.**

I felt Dimitri playing with my hair stealthily.

**Lissa lay in her bed, thrashing and screaming.**

She earned sympathetic looks from everyone in the room, and she smiled gratefully.

**I bolted out of mine, quickly crossing the few feet that separated us.**

**"Liss," I said, shaking her. "Liss, wake up."**

**Her screams dropped off, replaced by soft whimpers. "Andre," she moaned."Oh God."**

I saw Mia looking at the floor. Then she lifted her head and opened her mouth to say something, but then looked at Lissa and didn't say anything. Lissa saw it and smiled reassuringly at her.

"Don't worry, Mia," she said. "I know my brother was a big jerk with you. You didn't deserve that."

Mia smiled at her. "Thank you, Liss."

**I helped her sit up. "Liss, you aren't there anymore. Wake up."**

**After a few moments, her eyes fluttered open, and in the dim lighting, I could see a flicker of consciousness start to take over. Her frantic breathing slowed, and she leaned into me, resting her head against my shoulder. I put an arm around her and ran a hand over her hair.**

Everyone except Lissa and Dimitri stared at me in astonishment.

"What?" I asked and the looks didn't stop. I sighed in exasperation. "WHAT?"

"You actually have a soft side?" asked Adrian with a surprised tone in his voice.

I looked at the ceiling and sighed. "Yes, yes I have one."

Before anyone could say something, I started reading again.

**"It's okay," I told her gently. "Everything's okay."**

More looks.

**"I had that dream."**

**"Yeah.I know."**

**We sat like that for several minutes, not saying anything else. When I felt her emotions calm down, I leaned over to the nightstand between our beds and turned on the lamp. It glowed dimly, but neither of us really needed much to see by. Attracted by the light, our housemate's cat, Oscar, leapt up onto the sill of the open window.**

"Aww, I remember Oscar," Lissa said. "He was so cute."

"To you, maybe," I said.

**He gave me a wide berth—animals don't like dhampirs, for whatever reason—**

"I think it's just you, Rose," said Christian and I glared at him.

"Shut up."

**but jumped onto the bed and rubbed his head against Lissa, purring softly.**

"Naww," said Mia.

**Animals didn't have a problem with Moroi, and they all loved Lissa in particular.**

"Who doesn't love Lissa?" I asked and she smiled at me.

**Smiling, she scratched his chin, and I felt her calm further.**

**"When did we last do a feeding?" I asked, studying her face.**

Shit.

"Rosemarie!" yelled my mom.

"It was for survival, Guardian Hathaway," said Dimitri calmy.

"He's right, Janine. It was for survival," agreed Alberta, talking for the first time.

My mom calmed down and with another look at me, she said "Okay. Keep reading."

I turned my head to Dimitri and muttered _thank you_ to him. He smiled those rare smiles at me.

**Her fair skin was paler than usual. Dark circles hung under her eyes, and there was an air of frailty about her. School had been hectic this week, and I couldn't remember the last time I'd given her blood. "It's been like…more than two days, hasn't it? Three? Why didn't you say anything?"**

I saw my mom biting her bottom lip, stopping herself from yelling at me again.

**She shrugged and wouldn't meet my eyes. "You were busy. I didn't want to—"**

**"Screw that," I said, shifting into a better position. No wonder she seemed so weak.**

**Oscar, not wanting me any closer, leapt down and returned to the window, where he could watch at a safe distance.**

"Watch?" asked Eddie and Mia at the same time. They exchanged some amused looks, then turned back to me.

"Mhm," I muttered.

**"Come on. Let's do this."**

"Oh, God," said my mom, shaking her head.

"Do we really have to listen to this?" asked Adrian.

"Seeing as we have no other choice, yes. Unfortunately," I said.

**"Rose—"**

**"Come **_**on.**_**It'll make you feel better."**

"Your determination to make Lissa feel better is amazing, Rose," said Mia to me. I smiled at her.

**I tilted my head and tossed my hair back, baring my neck. I saw her hesitate, but the sight of my neck and what it offered proved too powerful. A hungry expression crossed her face, and her lips parted slightly, exposing the fangs she normally kept hidden while living among humans.**

"At least you did something good," my mom muttered.

**Those fangs contrasted oddly with the rest of her features. With her pretty face and pale blond hair, she looked more like an angel than a vampire.**

"Angel?" Lissa asked, looking at me with an amused face. Then she saw my serious expression and looked down, smiling. "Noo."

"It's true, Liss." I told her, and she shook her head.

"I agree with Rose, Liss. Look at you. You're like a lost piece from Heaven," said Christian, placing a kiss on her cheek. Then he realized what he said. He looked up at me with wide eyes. "Did I just agree with you?"

I nodded. "Yup"

**As her teeth neared my bare skin, I felt my heart race with a mix of fear and anticipation. I always hated feeling the latter, but it was nothing I could help, a weakness I couldn't shake.**

My mom raised an eyebrow at me.

**Her fangs bit into me, hard, and I cried out at the brief flare of pain.**

Lissa looked at me with a guilty expression. "Sorry, Rose."

I smiled at her. "It's okay. You needed blood to survive."

**Then it faded, replaced by a wonderful, golden joy that spread through my body. It was better than any of the times I'd been drunk or high.**

"Rosemarie! Drunk or high?" exclaimed my mother.

"I've only beed high once. And – oh, come on! I'm a teenager, you know?"

"Yeah, but-" I cut her off by reading.

**Better than sex—**

Another round of _ooh_'s and _aah_'s.

**or so I imagined, since I'd never done it.**

I heard gasps.

"You're a virgin? Really?" asked Adrian, with his mouth hanging open.

"Yeah! I'm not the whore you guys take me for, you know?"

**It was a blanket of pure, refined pleasure, wrapping me up and promising everything would be right in the world. On and on it went. The chemicals in her saliva triggered an endorphin rush, and I lost track of the world, lost track of who I was.**

"So that's how it feels when you're bitten," said Adrian.

"Yup," I agreed.

**Then, regretfully,**

"Regretfully?" my mom almost yelled.

**it was over. It had taken less than a minute.**

"Thank God," muttered my mom.

**She pulled back, wiping her hand across her lips as she studied me. "You okay?"**

**"I…yeah."I lay back on the bed, dizzy from the blood loss. "I just need to sleep it off. I'm fine."**

"Or in another words, 'I'm not okay'," commented Adrian

"Shut up," I growled.

**Her pale, jade-green eyes watched me with concern. She stood up. "I'm going to get you something to eat."**

Dimitri nodded in agreement.

**My protests came awkwardly to my lips, and she left before I could get out a sentence. The buzz from her bite had lessened as soon as she broke the connection, but some of it still lingered in my veins, and I felt a goofy smile cross my lips. Turning my head, I glanced up at Oscar, still sitting in the window.**

**"You don't know what you're missing," I told him.**

Everyone –and I mean _everyone_- cracked up laughing.

"Really, Rose? Really? I knew you were crazy, but … wow," said Christian when we all calmed down.

My good mood vanished, and I glared at him. "Shut up."

**His attention was on something outside. Hunkering down into a crouch, he puffed out his jet-black tail started twitching.**

**My smile faded, and I forced myself to sit up. The world spun,**

"The world always spins," Adrian said.

I showed him the finger. "Suck it."

**and I waited for it to right itself before trying to stand. When I managed it, the dizziness set in again and this time refused to leave. Still, I felt okay enough to stumble to the window and peer out with Oscar.**

"Of course you did," said Dimitri, shaking his head.

**He eyed me warily, scooted over a little, and then returned to whatever had held his attention.**

**A warm breeze—unseasonably warm for a Portland fall— played with my hair as I leaned out. The street was dark and relatively quiet. It was three in the morning, just about the only time a college campus settled down, at least somewhat. The house in which we'd rented a room for the past eight months**

"Eight months?" Alberta an my mom asked surprised.

"Yup," I said.

**sat on a residential street with old, mismatched the road, a streetlight flickered, nearly ready to burn out. It still cast enough light for me to make out**

"Woaaah, slow down, little dhampir," said Adrian and flipped him off again.

**the shapes of cars and buildings. In our own yard, I could see the silhouettes of trees and bushes.**

**And a man watching me.**

"OHMYGOD!" Mia shrieked and put her palm over her mouth.

I rolled my eyes at her. I felt Dimitri putting his chin on the top of my head.

**I jerked back in surprise. A figure stood by a tree in the yard, about thirty feet away, where he could easily see through the window. He was close enough that I probably could have thrown something and hit him.**

Christian laughed. "Oh, God, the mental image is too funny."

**He was certainly close enough that he could have seen what Lissa and I had just done.**

I looked up at Dimitri. "Did you?"

He nodded.

**The shadows covered him so well that even with my heightened sight, I couldn't make out any of his features, save for his height. He was tall. He stood there for just a moment, barely discernible, and then stepped back, disappearing into the shadows cast by the trees on the far side of the yard. I was pretty sure I saw someone else move nearby and join him before the blackness swallowed them both.**

"Dun dun dun dun," Adrian sang.

**Whoever these figures were, Oscar didn't like them. Not counting me, he usually got along with most people, growing upset only when someone posed an immediate danger. The guy outside hadn't done anything threatening to Oscar, but the cat had sensed something, something that put him on edge.**

**Something similar to what he always sensed in me.**

"Really? You found out that we were guardians because the cat freaked out?" asked Dimitri with an amused tone.

I chuckled. "Yes."

**Icy fear raced through me, almost—but not quite—eradicating the lovely bliss of Lissa's bite. Backing up from the window, I jerked on a pair of jeans that I found on the floor, nearly falling over in the process.**

"You sleep naked?" asked Adrian. I'm pretty sure I saw drool coming out of his mouth.

"No. Just in a top and panties."

"Huh. Interesting," said Adrian, licking his lips.

**Once they were on, I grabbed my coat and Lissa's, along with our wallets. Shoving my feet into the first shoes I saw, I headed out the door.**

"First shoes you saw? You were on the run, you shouldn't have that much shoes," said my mom and I rolled my eyes.

"Whatever."

Then my mom sat up and made her way towards me. She bent down to be at my level and slapped me across my cheek so hard that my head rotated to my right. I heard gasps from almost everyone in the room, but I ignored them. I turned my face to see my mom, rubbing my cheek, a look full of hatred on my face.

"This is for your disrespectful attitude. How dare you to talk to me like that?" said my mom, then went back to her place.

"Rose…" Lissa started but I raised my hand in front of her face to stop her.

"Don't," I said. Then I turned my attention back to the book.

**Downstairs, I found her in the cramped kitchen, rummaging through the refrigerator. One of our housemates, Jeremy, sat at the table, hand on his forehead as he stared sadly at a calculus book. Lissa regarded me with surprise.**

**"You shouldn't be up."**

**"We have to ."**

**Her eyes widened, and then a moment later, understanding clicked in. "Are you…really?Are you sure?"**

**I nodded. I couldn't explain how I knew for sure. I just did.**

"The cat, of course," Christian said, trying to break the tension in the room.

"Not the moment," I said, glaring at him.

**Jeremy watched us curiously. "What's wrong?"**

**An idea came to mind. "Liss, get his car keys."**

**He looked back and forth between us. "What are you—"**

**Lissa unhesitatingly walked over to him. Her fear poured into me through our psychic bond, but there was something else too: her complete faith that I would take care of everything, that we would be always, I hoped I was worthy of that kind of trust.**

Lissa sat up and hugged me. "Of course you are, Rose. Don't you ever doubt yourself."

I smiled in her hair. "Thank you, Liss."

Then she pulled back and sat down on the floor.

**She smiled broadly and gazed directly into his eyes. For a moment, Jeremy just stared, still confused,and then I saw the thrall seize him. His eyes glazed over, and he regarded her adoringly.**

**"We need to borrow your car," she said in a gentle voice. "Where are your keys?"**

"Miss Dragomir!" shouted Kirova. "How dare you use compulsion on the poor boy?"

Lissa bowed her head down in shame. "Sorry, Miss Kirova," she muttered.

**He smiled, and I shivered. I had a high resistance to compulsion, but I could still feel its effects when it was directed at another , and I'd been taught my entire life that using it was wrong. Reaching into his pocket, Jeremy handed over a set of keys hanging on a large red key chain**.

**"Thank you," said Lissa. "And where is it parked?"**

**"Down the street," he said dreamily."At the Brown." Four blocks away.**

**"Thank you," she repeated, backing up. "As soon as we leave, I want you to go back to studying. Forget you ever saw us tonight."**

"Strong compulsion," muttered Stan.

**He nodded obligingly. I got the impression he would have walked off a cliff for her right then if she'd asked. All humans were susceptible to compulsion, but Jeremy appeared weaker than most. That came in handy right now.**

**"Come on," I told her. "We've got to move."**

**We stepped outside, heading toward the corner he'd named. I was still dizzy from the bite and kept stumbling, unable to move as quickly as I wanted. Lissa had to catch hold of me a few times to stop me from falling. All the time, that anxiety rushed into me from her mind. I tried my best to ignore it; I had my own fears to deal with.**

"Rose? Fears? Wow," said Christian.

**"Rose…what are we going to do if they catch us?" she whispered.**

**"They won't," I said fiercely. "I won't let them."**

**"But if they've found us—"**

**"They found us before. They didn't catch us then. We'll just drive over to the train station and go to L.A. They'll lose the trail."**

"You make it sound simple," said Christian and I smirked. "What?"

**I made it sound simple.**

He paled. "I think like you … God,"

"Great minds think alike, huh Sparky?" I said and earned some laughs from my friends.

**I always did, even though there was nothing simple about being on the run from the people we'd grown up with. We'd been doing it for two years,**

"You're such a dirty, dirty little dhampir, little dhampir," said Adrian, then he made some cat sounds.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Are you drunk or something?"

**hiding wherever we could and just trying to finish high school. Our senior year had just started, and living on a college campus had seemed**

**safe. We were so close to freedom.**

**She said nothing more, and I felt her faith in me surge up once more. This was the way it had always been between us. I was the one who took action, who made sure things happened— sometimes recklessly so.**

"Sometimes?" asked everyone.

"Okay, okay. Everytime. You happy?"

**She was the more reasonable one, the one who thought things out and researched them extensively before styles had their uses,**

"I like Lissa's more," muttered my mom.

**but at the moment, recklessness was called for. We didn't have time to hesitate.**

I felt Dimitri's head rest on my shoulder as he read the next paragraph. Then he laughed.

I turned my head back to him. "What?" He pointed to the next paragraph and I read it. Then I laughed too. "Oh."

"That's how it happened?" he asked and I nodded. "Interesting."

"What? What?" asked Mia.

"You'll find out," I said.

**Lissa and I had been best friends ever since kindergarten, when our teacher had paired us together for writing lessons.**

"Ohoh, you're gonna enjoy this," said Eddie laughing, remembering the scene.

**Forcing five-year-olds to spell****_Vasilisa Dragomir_****and****_Rosemarie Hathaway_****was beyond cruel, and we'd—or rather,****_I'd_****—responded appropriately. I'd chucked my book at our teacher and called her a fascist bastard.**

Everyone cracked up laughing.

"Y-you did what?" asked Christian through laughs.

"Badass since the very beginning," I said, smirking.

When everyone calmed down, I continued reading.

**I hadn't known what those words meant, but I'd known how to hit a moving target.**

**Lissa and I had been inseparable ever since.**

"You tell me?" said Eddie. "At kindergarten, they slept in one bed in the afternoon, and the teacher split them because they were laughing or disturbing the other kids' sleep."

Me and Lissa laughed at the memory.

"Yeah… memories," I muttered.

**"Do you hear that?" she asked suddenly.**

**It took me a few seconds to pick up what her sharper senses already had. Footsteps, moving fast. I grimaced. We had two more blocks to go.**

"Sure, Jeremy would have died If he'd parked his car somewhere near the college campus," I said sarcastically.

**"We've got to run for it," I said, catching hold of her arm.**

**"But you can't—"**

**"Run."**

**It took every ounce of my willpower not to pass out on the sidewalk.**

Adrian laughed suddenly, and I gave him the _you-need-therapy-Adrian_look.

"What the-?" I asked.

"Sorry, Rose but the mental image is too funny," he said. " 'Oh, Lissa. Leave. Go. Save yourself. Let … me… d-die, ugh'," he said, in a dramatic tone making some weird movements with his hands.

".a serious problem, buddy," I said, still giving him the _you-need-therapy-Adrian_look.

**My body didn't want to run after losing blood or while still metabolizing the effects of her saliva. But I ordered my muscles to stop their bitching**

"First the cat, then your muscles?" commentes Christian. "I guess Adrian isn't the only one with a serious problem," he said in a sing-song voice.

I gave Lissa a knowing look, and she smacked Christian on his arm.

"Stop insulting Rose!" she yelled.

I muttered a _thank you_ to her and she smiled.

**and clung to Lissa as our feet pounded against the concrete. Normally I could have outrun her without any extra effort—particularly since she was barefoot—**

"Yeaaah, thank you very much, Rose," said Lissa sarcastically.

**but tonight, she was all that held me upright.**

**The pursuing footsteps grew louder, closer. Black stars danced before my eyes. Ahead of us, I could make out Jeremy's green Honda. Oh God, if we could just make it—**

I stopped for a dramatic scene.

"Ugh, come onn! Read the next!" Mia exclaimed. I smirked at her.

**Ten feet from the car, a man stepped directly into our path.**

Mia gasped.

**We came to a screeching halt, and I jerked Lissa back by her arm. It was**_**him,**_**the guy I'd seen across the street watching me.**

"Stalkeer," sang Adrian.

**He was older than us, maybe mid-twenties, and as tall as I'd figured, probably six-six or six-seven.**

I looked up at Dimitri.

"Six-seven," he said.

**And under different circumstances—say, when he wasn't holding up our desperate escape—I would have thought he was hot.**

"Ooohhh," said Adrian, Eddie and Christian. "Someone is in love with her older mentor," sang Christian.

I was blushing like crazy and smiling like an idiot now. "Shut up," I said, trying to cover my face with my hair.

"Nah, nah. She _is_in love with her mentor. Look at her face. She's redder than a tomato," said Adrian, smirking. "Anything you want to tell us, Belikov? Your face is almost as red as your little _student_ that stays in your lap," he said in a knowing tone.

"Leave Dimitri alone, dickhead," I said

Before he could say something, I started reading again.

**Shoulder-length brown hair, tied back in a short ponytail. Dark brown eyes. A long brown coat—a duster, I thought it was called.**

"Defenetely Belikov," said Christian. "No doubt. Ah, I can't wait to tease Rose every day at school on this topic when we get out of here."

Still blushing, I continued reading.

**But his hotness was irrelevant now.**

"So he means nothing to you anymore? Aww, I though it was love at first sight," said Adrian in a hurt tone, pouting.

"Shut up," I muttered.

**He was only an obstacle keeping Lissa and me away from the car and our footsteps behind us slowed, and I knew our pursuers had caught up. Off to the sides, I detected more movement, more people closing in. God. They'd sent almost a dozen guardians to retrieve us. I couldn't believe it. The queen herself didn't travel with that many.**

**Panicked and not entirely in control of my higher reasoning, I acted out of instinct.**

"Uh-oh," said Eddie.

**I pressed up to Lissa,keeping her behind me and away from the man who appeared to be the leader.**

**"Leave her alone," I growled. "Don't touch her."**

"That's Christian's job," I smirked to him and I saw a tint of red in his and Lissa's cheeks.

**His face was unreadable, but he held out his hands in what was apparently supposed to be some sort of calming gesture, like I was a rabid animal he was planning to sedate.**

**"I'm not going to—"**

**He took a step forward. Too close.**

"Rose," my mom lectured me.

**I attacked him,**

My mom shook her head in a disapproving way.

**leaping out in an offensive maneuver I hadn't used in two years, not since Lissa and I had run away. The move was stupid,**

"At least she admits," said Eddie.

**another reaction born of instinct and fear. And it was hopeless. He was a skilled guardian, not a novice who hadn't finished his training. He also wasn't weak and on the verge of passing out.**

**And man, was he fast. I'd forgotten how fast guardians could be, how they could move and strike like cobras. He knocked me off as though brushing away a fly, and his hands slammed into me and sent me backwards. I don't think he meant to strike that hard**

Dimitri shook his head.

—**probably just intended to keep me away—but my lack of coordination interfered with my ability to respond. Unable to catch my footing, I started to fall,**

**heading straight toward the sidewalk at a twisted angle, hip-first. It was going to hurt. A**_**lot.**_

"Auch," said Mia.

**Only it didn't.**

"Huh?" she asked, confused.

**Just as quickly as he'd blocked me, the man reached out and caught my arm,**

**keeping me upright.**

"Oh."

**When I'd steadied myself, I noticed he was staring at me**

Another round of _ooh_'s from the boys. My mom was digging holes in Dimitri's head now.

—**or, more precisely, at my neck.**

I emphasized the last part while glaring at Eddie, Christian and Adrian.

**Still disoriented, I didn't get it right away.**

"When do you?" muttered Christian.

**Then, slowly, my free hand reached up to the side of my throat and lightly touched the wound Lissa had made earlier. When I pulled my fingers back, I saw slick, dark blood on my skin.**

"Ew," said Mia, wrinking her face. "Did you really have to describe it?"

I just shrugged.

**Embarrassed, I shook my hair so that it fell forward around my face. My hair was thick and long and completely covered my neck. I'd grown it out for precisely this reason.**

**The guy's dark eyes lingered on the now-covered bite a moment longer and then met mine.**

"Now KISS!" said Adrian and I glared at him.

I felt Dimitri tense and I'm pretty sure it took every ounce of his willpower to not punch Adrian in the face.

**I returned his look defiantly and quickly jerked out of his hold. He let me go, though I knew he could have restrained me all night if he'd wanted.**

Christian whisteled.

**Fighting the nauseating dizziness, I backed toward Lissa again, bracing myself**

**for another attack.**

My mother shook her head again.

**Suddenly, her hand caught hold of mine.**

**"Rose," she said quietly."Don't."**

"Compulsion?" my mom asked me and I shook my head.

**Her words had no effect on me at first, but calming thoughts gradually began to settle in my mind, coming across through the bond. It wasn't exactly compulsion**

"See?" I asked her.

—**she wouldn't use that on me—but it was effectual, as was the fact that we were hopelessly outnumbered and outclassed. Even I knew struggling**

**would be pointless. The tension left my body, and I sagged in defeat.**

**Sensing my resignation, the man stepped forward, turning his attention to Lissa. His face was calm. He swept her a bow and managed to look graceful doing it, which surprised me considering his height.**

I turned back to Dimitri. "Yeah, that reminds me. How do you manage being so graceful?"

"Years of practice," he said and I nodded.

**"My name is Dimitri Belikov," he said. I could hear a faint Russian accent. "I've come to take you back to St. Vladimir's Academy, Princess."**

"No waay, I though you were going to take us to Noth Pole to see Santa Claus," I said sarcastically and he chuckled. "Okay, who wants to read the next chapter?"

"I will," said Lissa and I gave her the book.

She cleared her throat, but Dimitri stopped her. "Wait, Princess. I need to talk to Rose in private for a moment," he said, standing up and I followed him.

"Uh .. okay?" Lissa said and put the book down.

I followed Dimitri in his room, and he opened the door for me. Then, he followed me in his room and closed the door behind him.

"So what do you want do talk abo-" I said but I was cut off by Dimitri pushing me against the wall and kissing me like he never did before.

* * *

**MWAHAHAHA! I'm cruel, I know.**

**What do you think it'll happen next, huh? ;)**

**Review or my little hamster will die. Do you want him to die? *puppy dog eyes***

**~Rose**


	3. Chapter 2 part one

**Hey guys!**

**Thank you so much for your reviews! I'm glad you like this story.**

**And to RozaXDimkaBelikovForever, yes they were joking, but that was the point when Rose was blushing. I wanted everyone to know that she was in love with Dimitri :). Understand? **

**This is part one of chapter two, because here they won't read another chapter, sorry. But this is exciting too ;).**

**Disclaimer: I own Vampire Academy. *burst out laughing* lol, no I don't. I'm not that creative. Richelle Mead does.**

**Now, let's continue with the story, shall we?**

* * *

He defenetely caugh me off guard, because at first I didn't respond to his kiss. But then, I relaxed and wrapped my arms around his neck and my left leg around his waist, pulling him closer to me, needing to feel his warmth. He put one hand behind my head and tangled his fingers in it, while his other hand was touching every part of my body.

Then Dimitri broke the kiss and looked right into my eyes, gasping for air and stroking my cheek. My arms still staied wrapped around his neck.

"You have no idea how much I wanted to do this," he whispered to me.

"But you did it this morning," I said.

"Yeah, but I want to do this all the time," he smiled and pecked me once more. "You're so beautiful."

I couldn't help it anymore. I blushed. For the 100th time today. "Thank you."

I felt him shifting and looking at the ground.

"What's wrong?" I asked him with concern in my voice.

"Nothing … it's just," he said, not meeting my eyes. "I don't know how to tell you this."

I started to worry now. "Is…is it something bad?"

"No, not at all. It's exactly the contrary. Well, actually, it's not a statement. It's a question. And I don't know how you would react," he said, fidgeting.

"Come on," I said, cupping his face in my hands, forcing him to look at me. "If you don't ask, you'll never know the answer," I told him.

He smiled and looked in my eyes. Then his smile dropped, a serious expression on his face now. "Will you be my girlfriend, Roza?"

I just stood there, my heart threating to come out my chest and staring at him, afraid that this might be a dream and I'll wake up later. Dimitri's face showed no emotion, only his eyes told me that he's afraid I'll reject him.

I took a deep breath and nodded, smiling. "Yes."

He smiled widely at me, before hugging me tight and kissing me passionately.

"I love you, Roza. I couldn't help to have you near me and to not call you mine. I will never, but never, let anything happen to you," he said in my hair, as he hugged me once more.

"I love you too," I told him and he put me down, an amused look crossing his features.

"I can write a whole novel about how much I love you, and you just say 'I love you too'?" he said, smiling at me amused.

"But it's that simple. I love you, and that's what it matters, right?"

"Yeah. You're right."

My good mood vanished a little and I stared at nothing. "You know that we should tell them, right? They are going to find out from the books, at it'll be worse if we won't tell them now," I told him.

"I know. Your mom is going to castrate me."

I laughed softly. "Yeah. Yeah, she will. Now let's go," I told him, and we got out of his room.

"Finally! What took you so long?" Christian said when we entered the little room that I decided to call it 'the reading room'.

I looked up at Dimitri, and then back at everyone. I took a deep breath. "We have … to tell you something, guys," I said, my heart beating fast.

Everyone leaned forward, and I saw my mom sending death glares at Dimitri.

"What?" asked Lissa.

I looked at Dimitri once again and I found him looking at me. _Tell them_, his eyes said to me. I sighed, turning my attention back to everyone, while I took Dimitri's hand and intertwined my fingers with his. Everyone gasped, while others just put their palms over their mouths. I felt sadness through the bond coming from Lissa, and when I looked at her, I saw a look on her face that I haven't seen before. She felt betrayed. She thought that I didn't want to tell her because she will tell everyone then. All these thoughts surprised me, but I would have felt the same if I was in her shoes. She looked at me with a look that said '_Why didn't you tell me before? Don't you trust me anymore?'._

My mother got out of her trance, stood up and stand in front of Dimitri. She sighed, looked him in the eyes.

"How," she slapped him. "dare," another slap. "you," and another. "get involved," and another. "with my daughter," and another. "in that way," and another. Then, fortunately, she stopped.

"Guardian Hathaway-," he started only to be cut off by my mother.

"Shut up!" she yelled at him. "I will talk to you later," then, she turned her attention on me. "And you miss, come with me," she said, pulling my hair and dragged me in a random room. She opened the door and pushed me inside. Then she slammed the door and walked where I staied, with my arms wrapped around myself. She closed her eyes, sighed, opened them again and slapped me 100 times harder than she did with Dimitri. God, this woman has a thing with slaps.

"Do you have any idea in what you got yourself into?" my mom asked me, gripping my shoulders.

I forced myself not to cry. "Yes, mom. I know exactly in what I get myself into," I growled.

"I don't think you know, Rosemarie. Because if you knew, you obviously wouldn't get involved with him!" my mom screamed at me, and I was pretty sure everyone could hear our fight.

"I love him," I growled at her again, looking straight in her eyes.

She gave a harsh laugh. "You're seventeen, Rose. You have no idea, but _no idea_ what love is. The fact that he is _seven years older_ than you helps too."

"I don't care that he is seven years older than me!" I screamed in her face. "I love him, he loves me. Why is there a problem?" I yelled at her again.

She slapped my mouth with her backhand. And it hurt, especially that she had a diamond ring on her ring finger. "Don't yell at me! And it is a _big _problem. He can take avantage of you, Rose!" she screamed.

I windened my eyes. I couldn't believe what she was saying. Dimitri taking avantage of me? I wanted to laugh in her face, but I was afraid of how my mother would react. "WHAT? Mom, I know Dimitri. And I can swear that he won't do this do me. I'm pretty sure that this thought didn't even cross his mind."

"Oh, yeah?" she asked sarcastically. "And how do you know this? Can you read his mind? Do you have a psychic bond with him too?" I staied still, not doing anything but to look her in the eyes.

"So that's what this is about? You're afraid that he'll take avantage of me? Mom, that's absurd."

"That, and many other things. You know the stories about relationships between Guardians. This will affect your future."

"I don't care what other people think," I growled.

My mom sighed, and then said. "You won't see him again after we get out of here. I'll talk with headmistress Kirova to dismiss Dimitri as your mentor. And it's final."

Now I burst into tears. "What? Please mom, don't do this. You can't do this to me, please. You have no idea how much he means to me," I said, sobbing.

My mother gave a harsh laugh again. "You're like a stupid teenager from a soap opera. This is just a stupid highschool girl crush. It'll pass. Now stop crying like a baby and face the reality," she said.

"No!" I screamed. "If you'll think I'll give up this easy, then you obviously don't know me. And Dimitri won't give up either. And you know why? Because we love each other! Why is it so hard for you to see it? Why is it so hard for _everyone _to see it?"

Right then, I heard a knock on the door.

My mom sighed. "Come in."

The door opened and Lissa walked in hesitantly. "Um .. Guardian Hathaway.. can I talk to Rose for a moment?" she asked. Over her shoulder I saw Dimitri sitting on the floor with his head in his hands, his body shaking. My heart broke watching him and I stopped myself from crying even harder.

"Sure, Princess," my mom said. Then she turned to me. "My decision is final, Rose," was all she said before walking out of the room.

I threw myself on the bed and Lissa sat next to me. I couldn't feel anything through the bond. She was blocking me. Prefect.

"What did you talk with your mother?" she asked, after a few moments.

"The walls are thin, Lissa," I told her, whipping my tears. "I'm sure you all heard everything me and my mom talked."

"You're right," she sighed. "Why didn't you tell me, Rose?" she asked, her voice calm.

"I wanted to, Liss," I said, looking at her. "I really did. But … I don't know."

"Don't you trust me anymore?" she asked with sadness.

"Of course I trust you, Lissa! Don't ever doubt that."

"Then why didn't you tell me? Were you afraid that I would've told?"

I looked at the ground. "No. I know better than anyone that you wouldn't tell. I just couldn't open up. No even to you. I…I can't explain."

She sighed again. "Do you love him?" she asked me.

I turned back to her. "Huh?"

"Do you love him?" she repeated.

"Of course I love him. I love him more than I loved anyone. And everyone is just too stubborn to see it," I told her, my voice breaking.

"Good. Because he loves you too. Very much. I can't see auras like Adrian, but I could see his face when he was listening to you and your mom arguing. When you started crying and screaming that you love him, it was like someone shot him right in his heart," she said, looking me in the eye.

"Don't tell me more, please," I said, starting crying again. I put my head in my hands and sobbed.

"Shh," Lissa told me, hugging me tight. I rested my head on her shoulder, crying on it while she stroked my hair. "It's okay, Rose. Everything is going to be okay."

_Oh, Liss. How I hope you're right_, I said to myself.

I don't know how long we staied like this, but her words calmed me. After I was done crying, I smiled at her.

"Thank you," I whispered to her.

"Anytime, Rose. I'm here for you. Don't you ever forget that," she smiled back at me.

"Are you still mad that I didn't tell you about me and Dimitri?"

She shook her head. "No. I understand."

I took her hand in mine. "You're the best, Liss."

Then, someone knocked at the door. I looked behind me and saw a totally devastated Dimitri walking in, leaving the door open. I jumped from the bed and ran right in his arms, crying in his . He held me tight and stroked my hair, murmuring things in Russian. I didn't understand them, but they calmed me. He kissed the top of my head and I pulled back. We were still standing close, though.

"D-Dimitri.. h-have y-you h-h-heard what my m-m-mom wants t-to d-do?" I said, sobbing.

Dimitri hugged me again. "Shhh, calm down, love," he said, patting my back. "I hate seeing you like this. And yes, I heard."

"I-I can't b-believe t-that she's doing t-this to m-me. Can't she see that we l-l-love each other?" I cried in his chest.

"I know, I know, I know, I know," he said fast, rocking me back and forth. "Don't worry. We would get through this, Roza," he pulled back and cupped my face in his hands. "And then, everything it's going to be good. I promise," he said, and I saw his eyes filled with tears. Then, one tear escaped, and then another, and another… I whipped his tears with my thumb, then I kissed him. I could hear whispering from 'the reading room', but I couldn't hear them. I only heard "It's obvious that they love each other. Look at them." I didn't know who said those words, but I was glad that someone opened their eyes.

I broke the kiss and looked behind me at Lissa, who was looking sadly at us, with tears in her eyes. I checked the bond, and she finally let me know what she was feeling. She was sad for me and Dimitri, happy that I finally found my love and angry, but not at me. She was angry at my mom, which surprised me. She was angry that she didn't allow mine and Dimitri's relationship.

Someone cleared their throat behind Dimitri, and me and he turned around, to see my mom standing with her arms crossed over her chest, looking at us with no emotion on her face.

"Mom, before you say anything-" I started but she cut me off by raising her hand in front of my face.

"Let me talk, Rose," she said. She looked at the ground for two seconds, then sighed and looked at me and Dimitri again. "I can't believe that I'm actually saying this but, I allow your … relationship."

I windened my eyes and smiled widely at her. "Really?" I asked, surprised. Through the bond, I felt Lissa's happiness replacing her sadness.

My mom nodded. "Yes."

I didn't know what got me, but I threw my arms around my mother's body and hugged her tight. I defenetely caught her off guard –I even surprised myself doing this- but she hugged me back.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you," I told her continuously.

"Um.. Rose. I…can't..breathe!" she said and I pulled back.

"Sorry," I told her, still smiling. I looked up at Dimitri, who was aleardy looking at me, smiling one of his rare and beautiful smiled at me. "Did you hear her, Dimitri? She allows us! She allows us!" I exclaimed, almost jumping up and down.

He nodded, still smiling. "Yes, Roza. I heard her."

I hugged him tight and he lifted me off the ground, spinning me around. Then he put me down and pulled back, just to put his hand behind my head and to bring my face closer to his. Our lips connected, and I totally forgot that there were people in the room. Right now, it was just me and him. I melted in his kiss, and in the way my skin burned when it made contact with his hands. He gently slid his tongue in my mouth, exploring it. This sent shivers down my spine. He pulled back and smiled at me.

I felt Lissa behind me and I turned around to see her with a big smile on her face. I smiled back at her and she threw her arms around my body.

"'I'm so happy for you, Rose," she whispered in my hair.

"Thank you," I whispered back. Then she pulled back.

"See? I told you everything is going to be okay. I can see the future," she said the last part in a mysterious way and I laughed. I looked in 'the reading room' and saw that _everyone_ there had a big smile on their faces. Even Kirova! Wow.

"Okay. Now, let's go back to the book," I told everyone. They nodded and made our way to the circle. Dimitri sat down in his usual spot, pulling me down with him in his lap, kissing the top of my head. Lissa took the book and cleared her throat.

"**Chapter two,**" she read.

* * *

**Pheeeeeew. Done. It took me 4 hours to write it, and I even cried while writing it. First time in years.**

**Did you like it? I sure did :D.**

**Oops, I almost forgot. I think I won't be able to update tomorrow because there are some festivities in my town and I'll be outside with my friends. But who knows? **

**Oh, and if you want, check out this song. Is my favorite. /watch?v=QhoPLL4U5L8&feature=related**

**REVIEW, please ;).**


	4. Chapter 2 part two

**Hey guys! I'm glad you liked my last chapter ;)**

**Now, get ready for part. 2!**

* * *

**MY HATRED NOTWITHSTANDING, **

"Hatred?" Dimitri asked me with a mock hurt expression.

I shrugged. "I didn't know you back then."

**I HAD to admit Dimitri Beli-whatever **

"Dimitri Beli-whatever?" he asked me again, an amused expression on his face this time.

"Hey, I was not familiarized with Russian names then," I defended myself.

**was pretty smart.**

"At least she called you smart," said Christian.

**After they'd carted us off to the airport to and onto the Academy's private jet, he'd taken one look at the two of us whispering and ordered us separated.**

My mom and Kirova nodded in agreement.

**"Don't let them talk to each other," he warned the guardian who escorted me to the back of the plane. "Five minutes together, and they'll come up with an escape plan."**

"No doubt they were aleardy planning an escape plan," said Adrian.

I windened my eyes in mock shock. "We are good girls, Adrian. How can you even think about that?"

He just scoffed.

**I shot him a haughty look and stormed off down the aisle. **

"Naughty?" Adrian wagged his eyebrows at me and Dimitri.

"Haughty!" me, Dimitri and Lissa exlaimed at the same time.

**Never mind the fact we _had_been planning escape.**

"Psh, see? If you are a good girl, Rose, then I am Obama," said Adrian and I stuck my tongue out at him.

**As it was, things didn't look good for our heroes—or heroines, rather.**

"You sound like you and Lissa were some kind of superwomen and got caught by the forces of dark when you wanted to save the world," said Christian and I burst out laughing.

"No more comics for you, Pyro!" I said to him.

**Once we were in the air, our odds of escape dropped further. Even supposing a miracle occurred and I did manage to take out all ten guardians,**

Eddie scoffed. "Yeah, sure."

**we'd sort of have a problem in getting off the plane. I figured they might have parachutes aboard somewhere, but in the unlikely event I'd be able to operate one, there was still that little issue of**

**survival, seeing as we'd probably land somewhere in the Rocky Mountains.**

**No, we weren't getting off this plane until it landed in backwoods Montana . I'd have to think of something then, something that involved getting past the Academy's magical wards and ten times as many guardians. **

"No problem," said Eddie sarcastically.

Lissa grinned and read the next line.

**Yeah. No problem.**

I did a perfect "O" with with my lips. "Wooo. Seems like you think like me, big bro," I said to him.

Eddie winked at me.

**Although Lissa sat at the front with the Russian guy,**

Dimitri looked at me amused. "Do you have more nicknames for me?"

"No, comrade. No."

**her fear sang back to me, pounding inside my head like a hammer. My concern for her cut into my fury. They couldn't take her back _there,_not to that place. I wondered if Dimitri might have hesitated if he could feel what I did and if he knew what I knew.**

**Probably not. He didn't care.**

"Of course I cared!" Dimitri exclaimed.

"I didn't know you back then."

**As it was, her emotions grew so strong that for a moment, I had the disorienting sensation of sitting in her seat—in her skin even.**

"Oh, god," muttered Lissa.

**It happened sometimes, and without much warning, she'd pull me right into her head. Dimitri's tall frame sat beside me,**

"Beside Lissa," corrected Adrian.

"Whatever," I said, rolling my eyes.

**and my hand—**_**her **_**hand—gripped a bottle of water. He leaned forward to pick up something, revealing six tiny symbols tattooed on the back of his neck: **_**molnija**_**marks.**

"I see an explination coming," said Christian.

"I see your brain all over that wall if you don't shut up," I growled at him.

**They looked like two streaks of jagged lightning crossing in an X symbol. One for each Strigoi he'd killed. **

"Die, Eddie! Die!" I told him.

He looked at me confused. "What the fuck?"

"I aleardy have two molnija marks, nah nah."

He rolled his eyes. "Dimitri –is it okay if I call you like that?-, calm your girlfriend, please."

He nodded then put his hand on my thigh, moving his palm up and down slowly. I looked up at him and pouted.

"You are no fun," I told him and he chuckled. Then I turned back to Eddie. "You either," I told him and he rolled his eyes. "Keep reading, Lissa."

**Above them was a twisting line, sort of like a snake, that marked him as a promise mark.**

**Blinking, I fought against her and shifted back into my own head with a grimace. I hated when that happened.**

I shuddred. "You tell me? I had to see Chrisian naked because of that shit. And I'm telling you. It's defenetely _not_ a beautiful sight."

Christian and Lissa blushed, the something clicked in Lissa's head. She turned to me with wide eyes.

"That means … these books explain … my nights … with Christian?" she asked terrified and I burst out laughing.

"Ohohoho, yeah. They explain life through my eyes. And sometimes, I enter in your mind. So it's possible."

Lissa shook her head. "Oh, God."

**Feeling Lissa's emotions was one thing, but slipping into her was something we both despised.**

"Couldn't have said it better."

**She saw it as an invasion of privacy, so I usually didn't tell her when it happened.**

Lissa turned to me. "How many times did it happed?" she asked me seriously.

I looked at my feet. "Keep reading."

"No. I won't read until you'll tell me how many times you entered in my mind."

I sighed. "I don't know, I lost the count."

She gasped. "You are dead when we get out of here."

**Neither of us could control it. It was another effect of the bond, a bond neither of us fully understood. Legends existed about**

**psychic links between guardians and their Moroi, but the stories had never mentioned anything like this. We fumbled through it as best we could.**

**Near the end of the flight, Dimitri walked back to where I sat and traded places with the guardian beside me.**

"I bet Rose was happy like a child on a Christmas morning," said Eddie.

I rolled my eyes.

**I pointedly turned away, staring out the window absentmindedly. Several moments of silence passed.**

**Finally, he said, "Were you really going to attack all of us?"**

**I didn't answer.**

"Someone is a little bit cocky," sang Adrian.

**"Doing that…protecting her like that—it was very brave."**

"Brave? It was stupid!" my mom said to him.

"Wait, Guardian Hathaway," Lissa told her.

**He paused._"Stupid,_**

"Oh."

**but still brave. Why did you even try it?"**

**I glanced over at him, brushing my hair out of my face so I could look him levelly in the eye. **

**"Because I'm her guardian." I turned back toward the window.**

"No, you aren't," said Kirova.

"But I will be."

**After another quiet moment, he stood up and returned to the front of the jet. When we landed, Lissa and I had no choice but to let the commandos drive us out to the Academy. Our car stopped at the gate, and our driver spoke with guards who verified we weren't Strigoi about to go off on a killing spree.**

"Yeah. Because we really have white pale skin and red eyes, it's obvious, duh," I said sarcastically to no one in particular.

**After a minute, they let us pass on through the wards and up to the Academy itself. It was around sunset—the start of the vampiric day—and the campus lay wrapped in shadows.**

**It probably looked the same, sprawling and gothic. **

"Another explination," muttered Christian.

**The Moroi were big on tradition; nothing ever changed with them. This school wasn't as old as the ones back in Europe, but it had been built in the same buildings boasted elaborate, almost churchlike architecture, with high peaks and stone carvings. Wrought iron gates enclosed small gardens and doorways here and there. After living on a**

**college campus, I had a new appreciation for just how much this place resembled a university more than a typical high school.**

"We're not typical," said Mia.

**We were on the secondary campus, which was divided into lower and upper schools. Each was built around a large open quadrangle decorated with stone paths and enormous, century-old trees. We were going toward the upper school's quad, which had academic buildings on one side, while dhampir dormitories and the gym sat opposite. Moroi dorms sat on one of the other ends, and opposite them were the administrative buildings that also served the lower school. Younger students lived on the primary campus, farther to the west.**

**Around all the campuses was space, space, and more space. We were in Montana , after all, miles away from any real city. The air felt cool in my lungs and smelled of pine and wet, decaying leaves. Overgrown forests ringed the perimeters of the Academy, and during the day, you could see mountains rising up in the distance.**

"I never knew that you were so descriptive, Rose," said Eddie.

"Yeah," choursed Christian and Adrian.

"Rose really has talent at those kind of stuff. In 6th grade, she used to wrote the most beautiful compositions from our class," said Lissa.

"Used to? I still do." I said.

**As we walked into the main part of the upper school, I broke from my guardian and ran up to Dimitri.**

Adrian wolf whisteled.

**"Hey, Comrade."**

Me and Dimitri laughed. "I hoped that this book it'll tell why you chose this stupid nickname for me," said Dimitri.

"Aww, come on. I know you love it," I teased.

"You're right."

**He kept walking and wouldn't look at me. "You want to talk now?**

**"Are you taking us to Kirova?"**

Kirova shook her head.

**"Headmistress Kirova," he corrected. On the other side of him, Lissa shot me a look that said, _Don't start_ _something._**

"Too late," said Christian.

**"Headmistress. Whatever. She's still a self-righteous old bit—"**

"-ch," I finished.

"Miss Hathaway!" exclaimed Kirova.

"Here," I raised my hand.

"I'll just .. read now," said Lissa.

**My words faded as the guardians led us through a set of doors—straight into the commons. I sighed. Were these people _really_so cruel?**

I turned back to Dimitri and narrowed my eyes at him. "Was it your idea?"

He chuckled. "Yes."

I stuck my tongue out at him and he kissed my cheek.

**There had to be at least a dozen ways to get to Kirova's office, and they were taking us right through the center of the commons.**

**And it was breakfast time.**

"Oh, God," said Adrian. "I would have hated to be in your place."

**Novice guardians—dhampirs like me—and Moroi sat together, eating and socializing, faces alight with whatever current gossip held the Academy's attention. When we entered, the loud buzz of conversation stopped instantly, like someone had flipped a switch. Hundreds of sets of eyes swiveled toward us. **

"I bet Rose enjoyed every moment of it," said Christian.

**I returned the stares of my former classmates with a lazy grin,**

"Typical Rose," said Eddie.

**trying to get a sense as to whether things had changed. Nope. Didn't seem like it. Camille Conta still looked like the prim, perfectly groomed bitch I remembered,**

Mia laughed. "You were so right here, Rose."

**still the self-appointed leader of the Academy's royal Moroi cliques. Off to the side, Lissa's gawky near-cousin Natalie watched with wide eyes, as innocent and naive as before.**

"This fucking bitch," I growled. "We were so stupid."

"Roza, calm down," Dimitri whispered to me.

**And on the other side of the room…well, that was interesting. Aaron. Poor, poor Aaron, who'd no doubt had his heart broken when Lissa left. He still looked as cute as ever**

"You like Aaron? Ew," asked Christian,

I made a disgusted face. "Ew. No, god. I can tell somebody is cute without actually liking them, you know?"

—**maybe more so now—**

"You _like _Aaron," said Christian, then he _tsk_ed. "What will Dimitri think about that, huh?"

"He won't be mad because I don't like Aaron! God!" I said annoyed. "Keep Reading, Lissa."

**with those same golden looks that complemented hers so well.**

Christian narrowed his eyes but said nothing.

**His eyes followed her every move. Yes. Definitely not over her.**

Christian growled and Lissa kissed his cheek.

"He might have loved me but I only had eyes for you," she told him, and Christian smiled.

"But you guys didn't know each other back then," I said.

They glared at me, "You ruin every good moment, Rose. Did me or Lissa ruin your beautiful times with Dimitri? Nooo," said Christian and I shrugged, smirking.

"Life's a bitch, buddy. Deal with it."

Christian murmured something that sounded like 'life's a bitch just because you were born.' I glared at him, trying so hard to not punch him. Lissa felt the tension and started reading.

**It was sad, really, because Lissa had never really been all that into him.**

Christian looked smug.

**I think she'd gone out with him simply because it seemed like the expected thing to do.**

**But what I found most interesting was that Aaron had apparently found a way to pass the time without her. Beside him, holding his hand, was a Moroi girl who looked about eleven**

"ELEVEN!" Mia exclaimed. "I don't look like an eleven years old girl! Rose, you really exaggerated here."

"You're right," I told her and she sighed. "You look like you are twelve," I told her, smirking and she glared at me.

"Ugh, come on Rose," Eddie said. "She's really beautiful, even if she looks young. Leave her alone."

Mia blushed a deep shade of red. I did a perfect "O" with my lips then smirked.

"Someone is in love," I said in a sing-song voice.

"No, I'm not," he said, trying to defend himself. Mia looked like she was hurt by Eddie's words, but she really did a great job at hiding it.

"Yes you are," I pushed it on. "Not cool when it's directed at you, huh Castille?"

"Read, Lissa," he ordered.

**had to be older,**

"Of course!" Mia exclaimed again.

"For God sake, I understand. You were not eleven like I thought, therefore I was wrong. Happy?"

Christian threw his head back, and raised his hands above his head, "She finally admits it! A miracle! A Christmas miracle! Thank you Lord," he screamed at the ceiling.

I rolled my eyes.

**unless he'd become a pedophile during our absence.**

Adrian looked at me amused, "I think you realize that when Belikov was 18 you were 11, right?"

I opened my mouth to say something, but then I realized that he was right. I closed my mouth and looked at the ground.

Christian threw his head back again, "Another Christmas miracle! Rose is left speechless! By Ivashkov! I've lived to see this happening!"

I couldn't help it anymore. I got off from Dimitri's lap and I slapped Christian across his cheek. Hard.

"Auch," he said, rubbing his cheek.

"Shut the fuck up with 'Christmas miracles' and let Lissa read in peace!" I yelled at him and made my way back to Dimitri.

**With plump little cheeks and blond ringlets, she looked like a porcelain doll.**

"Umm, should I take this as an insult or compliment?" Mia asked.

I thought for a moment, "Take it as an irony," I told her and she glared at me. I smied sweetly at her.

**A very pissed off and evil porcelain doll.**

"Ok, I will definitely take this as an insult," she said, then she glared at me. "Yeah, fuck you too, Rose."

"I'd love to," I started, "but you don't have with what to fuck me."

My friends snickered.

"Good one, Rose," said Adrian and I smiled smugly.

**She gripped his hand tightly and shot Lissa a look of such burning hatred that it stunned me. What the hell was that all about? She was no one I knew. Just a jealous girlfriend, I guessed.**

"No way," she said.

**I'd be pissed too if my guy was watching someone else like that.**

Dimitri shot me an amused look, then started to check Lissa out, almost, and I emphasize, _almost_, eye-fucking her.

I slapped him across his thigh hard.

"What," he asked, amused.

"Don't check my best friend out!" I exclaimed.

His face turned serious, "Yes, honey."

I burst out laughing, "Honey? Really?"

He nodded, still amused. At the corner of my eye, I saw Lissa blushing.

**Our walk of shame mercifully ended, though our new setting—Headmistress Kirova's**

Eddie started at me with wide eyes, and so did Christian, "You called Kirova by her title," said Christian. "Another Christ-" I shot him a look, while raising my palm, "I'll just shut up now."

I smiled ironically. "Good. Keep reading, Liss."

**office—didn't really improve things. The old hag looked exactly like I remembered,**

"Miss Hathaway!" Kirova screamed at me at the same time my mom yelled, "Rosemarie!"

"What?" I asked, annoyed.

Kirova shook her head, "When are you going to respect people older than you?"

"I aleardy do," I said, and I heard scoffs. "I just don't respect the old people that made my life a …"

**sharp-nosed and gray-haired. She was tall and slim, like most Moroi, and had always reminded me of a vulture. I knew her well because I'd spent a lot of time in her office.**

"You wouldn't be Rose Hathaway if you didn't," said Christian.

**Most of our escorts left us once Lissa and I were seated, and I felt a little less like a prisoner. Only Alberta , the captain of the school's guardians, and Dimitri stayed. They took up positions along the wall, looking stoic and terrifying,**

Alberta chuckled while Dimitri was shaking his head, clearly amused.

**just as their job description required.**

**Kirova fixed her angry eyes on us and opened her mouth to begin what would no doubt be a major bitch session. A deep, gentle voice stopped her.**

I scoffed, "Gentle voice my ass."

**"Vasilisa."**

"That's her name," I said.

**Startled, I realized there was someone else in the room. I hadn't noticed. Careless for a guardian, even a novice one.**

"At least you admit," muttered my mom.

**With a great deal of effort, Victor Dashkov rose from a corner chair. _Prince_Victor Dashkov.**

"Prince Victor Dashkov," I said in a high pitchy voice, while rolling my eyes.

**Lissa sprang up and ran to him, throwing her arms around his frail body.**

Lissa looked down, sadness coming from the bond. Christian saw it and hugged her, whispering something in her ear. Her emotions calmed down and she smiled at him.

**"Uncle," she whispered.**

"He was everything but my uncle," Lissa said, showing her fangs.

**She sounded on the verge of tears as she tightened her a small smile, he gently patted her back.**

**"You have no idea how glad I am to see you safe, Vasilisa." He looked toward me. "And you too, Rose."**

"Sure, add me as an afterthought. Don't I feel loved? Yes I do," I said sarcastically.

**I nodded back, trying to hide how shocked I was. He'd been sick when we left, but this—this was **_**horrible.**_**He was Natalie's father, only about forty or so, but he looked twice that age. Pale. Withered. Hands shaking. My heart broke watching him.**

"No it didn't," I corrected my own thoughts. "It's still here," I pointed at my heart. "Safe and sound."

**With all the horrible people in the world,**

"Like him?"

Dimitri whispered in my ear, "Calm down, Rose. You hate him. We got it."

**it didn't seem fair that this guy should get a disease that was going to kill him young and ultimately keep him from becoming king.**

I rolled my eyes at my own stupidness.

**Although not technically her uncle—**

"Fortunately," murmured Lissa.

**the Moroi used family terms very loosely, especially the royals—**

"That's right, cousin," said Adrian, winking at Lissa.

I raised my hand, "I thought that."

**Victor was a close friend of Lissa's family and had gone out of his way to help her after her parents had died. I liked him;**

"No, I didn't," I said.

"Yes, Rose," said Lissa. "You liked him back then."

I rolled my eyes, "Whatever."

**he was the first person I was happy to see here.**

**Kirova let them have a few more moments and then stiffly drew Lissa back to her seat.**

**Time for the lecture.**

Adrian rubbed his hands together and leaned forward, "This is going to be good."

**It was a good one—one of Kirova's best, which was saying something. She was a master at them. I swear that was the only reason she'd gone into school administration, because I had yet to see any evidence of her actually **_**liking**_**kids.**

"I like kids," said Kirova, "the _educated and respectful _ones, who don't break the ruled."

I burst out laughing, "We aren't in 19th century anymore. There aren't kids like this anymore. Even Lissa broke the rules and did something bad in her 17 years of living. Deal with it."

**The rant covered the usual topics: responsibility reckless behavior, self-centeredness.…Bleh. I immediately found myself spacing out, alternatively pondering the logistics of escaping through the window in her office.**

"Only our little Rose," said Christian.

"Oh, come on. I bet you did this too when Kirova was lecturing you."

"Yeah, you're right," he murmured.

**But when the tirade shifted to me—well, that was when I tuned back in.**

**"You, Miss Hathaway, broke the most sacred promise among our kind: the promise of a guardian to protect a Moroi. **

"I protected her," I growled.

**It is a great trust. A trust that you violated by selfishly taking the princess away from here. The Strigoi would love to finish off the Dragomirs;**

Everyone shuddered.

**_you_nearly enabled them to do it."**

**"Rose didn't kidnap me." Lissa spoke before I could, her voice and face calm, despite her uneasy feelings. "I wanted to go. Don't blame her."**

I smiled at Lissa, "I didn't thank you then. Thank you."

She smiled back, "Anytime, Rose."

**Ms. Kirova _tsk_ed at us both and paced the office, hands folded behind her narrow back.**

**"Miss Dragomir, you could have been the one who orchestrated the entire plan for all I know, but it was still **_**her**_**responsibility to make sure you didn't carry it out. If she'd done her duty, she would have notified someone. If she'd done her duty, she would have kept you safe."**

I facepalm-ed, "I did do my duty."

**I snapped.**

"Took you long enough," said Eddie.

**"I _did_do my duty!" I shouted, jumping up from my chair. Dimitri and Alberta both flinched but left me alone since I wasn't trying to hit anyone.**

"Yet," said Christian.

Lissa smirked.

**Yet.**

Christian paled again, "This shit is scaring me."

I smiled innocently at him.

"See guys?" asked Lissa. "I told you that you two are very much alike."

"No, we aren't," said me and Christian at the same time. Now, it was both who paled. "Oh God," I murmured.

"Mhm," Christian nodded.

**"I did keep her safe! I kept her safe when none of _you"_—I made a sweeping gesture around the room—"could do it. I took her away to protect her. I did what I had to do. You certainly weren't going to."**

**Through the bond, I felt Lissa trying to send me calming messages, again urging me not to let anger get the best of late.**

**Kirova stared at me, her face blank. "Miss Hathaway, forgive me if I fail to see the logic of how taking her out of a heavily guarded, magically secured environment is protecting her. Unless there's something you aren't telling us?"**

"Victor Dashkov wants to use her for his crazy, wicked and evil plans," I said.

**I bit my lip.**

**"I see. Well, then. By my estimation, the only reason you left—aside from the novelty of it, no doubt—was to avoid the consequences of that horrible, destructive stunt you pulled just before your disappearance."**

"What horrible, destructive stunt?" asked Mia.

"I think it'll be somewhere in the book. If it's not, I'll tell you when we finish it."

Mia groaned but said nothing more.

**"No, that's not—"**

**"And that only makes my decision that much easier. As a Moroi, the princess must continue on here at the Academy for her own safety, but we have no such obligations to you. You will be sent away as soon as possible."**

**My cockiness dried up."I…what?"**

**Lissa stood up beside me. "You can't do that! She's my guardian." **

"She's not a guardian," my mom muttered.

"But I will be!"

**"She is no such thing, particularly since she isn't even a guardian at all. She's still a novice."**

**"But my parents—"**

**"I know what your parents wanted, God rest their souls, but things have changed. Miss Hathaway is expendable. She doesn't deserve to be a guardian, and she will leave."**

"Rose is not expendable! She's the bestest friend I've ever had!" Lissa exclaimed.

"Hate to say this, but she's right. Who would be my little annoying sister if she would have left?" Christian said.

"Yep. Rose is the best," said Mia and Eddie.

"Can't replace our little dhampir."

"They're right," said Dimitri, "Rose is the best thing that had happened in my life," he said, smilig at me and I pecked his lips.

"Love you guys," I said, smiling at them.

**I stared at Kirova, unable to believe what I was hearing. "Where are you going to send me?To my mom in Nepal ? Did she even know I was gone?**

"Of course I knew!" my mom exclaimed.

**Or maybe you'll send me off to my _father?"_**

**Her eyes narrowed at the bite in that last word. When I spoke again, my voice was so cold, I barely recognized it.**

**"Or maybe you're going to try to send me off to be a blood whore. Try that, and we'll be gone by the end of the day."**

**"Miss Hathaway," she hissed, "you are out of line."**

"As usual," said Eddie.

**"They have a bond." Dimitri's low, accented voice broke the heavy tension, and we all turned toward him. I think Kirova had forgotten he was there, but I hadn't.**

"Of course she didn't", said Christian.

**His presence was way too powerful to ignore. He still stood against the wall, looking like some sort of cowboy sentry in that ridiculous long coat of his. **

"It's not ridiculous," said Dimitri.

"Sure it isn't. I think you even sleep with this damn duster," I said.

**He looked at me, not Lissa,**

Adrian wagged his eyebrows at him, "Aleardy checking her out, huh?"

"Shut the hell up and let Lissa read!" I yelled at him.

"God, calm down, woman!" Adrian said, raising his hands in surrender, "I was just kidding."

**his dark eyes staring straight through me. "Rose knows what Vasilisa**

"Lissa," she corrected Dimitri.

**is feeling. Don't you?"**

**I at least had the satisfaction of seeing Kirova caught off guard as she glanced between us and Dimitri.**

**"No…that's impossible. That hasn't happened in centuries."**

**"It's obvious," he said. "I suspected as soon as I started watching them."**

"Stalkeeer," sang Adrian.

I turned to Lissa, "Liss, give me the book."

She looked at me confused, "Um … why?"

"You'll see," I told her when she handed me the book. I crawled towards Adrian and hit him at the back of his head with the book.

"Auch," he said, rubbing the spot where I hit him.

"Shut the hell up!" I yelled before I crawled back at my place. I handed Lissa the book, "Keep reading."

**Neither Lissa nor I responded, and I averted my eyes from his.**

**"That is a gift," murmured Victor from his corner."A rare and wonderful thing."**

"This bitch was a great actor. Exactly like his daughter," I said.

**The best guardians always had that bond," added Dimitri."In the stories."**

**Kirova's outrage returned. "Stories that are centuries old," she exclaimed. "Surely you aren't suggesting we let her stay at the Academy after everything she's done?"**

**He shrugged. "She might be wild and disrespectful, but if she has potential—"**

**"Wild and disrespectful?"I interrupted. "Who the hell are you anyway? Outsourced help?"**

"Ouch," all the boys said. Christian _tsk_ed and shook his head, "That's not how you charm a man, Rose."

I rolled my eyes.

**"Guardian Belikov is the princess's guardian now," said Kirova."Her _sanctioned_guardian."**

**"You got cheap foreign labor to protect Lissa?"**

"Double ouch," said the boys again.

**That was pretty mean of me to say—particularly since most Moroi and their guardians were of Russian or Romanian descent—**

"The school is full of Romanian guardians, Gosh," I murmured.

**but the comment seemed cleverer at the time than it really was. And it wasn't like I was one to talk. I might have been raised in the U.S.,but my parents were foreign-born. My dhampir mother was Scottish—red-haired, with a ridiculous accent—**

"It's not ridiculous!" my mom exclaimed.

"To you maybe," I murmured.

**and I'd been told my Moroi dad was Turkish. That genetic combination had given me skin the same color as the inside of an almond, along with what I liked to think were semi-exotic desert-princess features:**

"A little bit too cocky, don't ya think?" said Eddie.

I shrugged, "Blame my mom and … dad. They were the one who made me that beautiful," I said, tossing my hair back.

Christian scoffed, "Sure."

**big dark eyes and hair so deep brown that it usually looked black. I wouldn't have minded inheriting the red hair, but we take what we get.**

My mom smiled at that.

"You can dye your hair red," said Mia.

"Yeah, but I don't wanna ruin it. I aleardy have split ends and burned hair here and there," I said, looking at my hair.

Dimitri played with my hair, "It's still very beautiful, Roza. Even if you have split ends. Everybody has."

I smiled at him, "Thank you."

**Kirova threw her hands up in exasperation and turned to him. "You see? Completely undisciplined! All the psychic bonds and _very_raw potential in the world can't make up for that. A guardian without discipline is worse than no guardian."**

"Not really," I said. "Even with an undisciplined guardian, a Moroi can be safe because the guardians take their job seriously. And without a guardian, they are," I drew a line on my neck with my index finger, "dead."

**"So teach her discipline. Classes just started. Put her back in and get her training again."**

**"Impossible. She'll still be hopelessly behind her peers."**

**"No, I won't," I argued. No one listened to me.**

**"Then give her extra training sessions," he said.**

**They continued on while the rest of us watched the exchange like it was a Ping-Pong game.**

"Nice comparison," said Lissa.

**My pride was still hurt over the ease with which Dimitri had tricked us, but it occurred to me that he might very well keep me here with Lissa. Better to stay at this hellhole than be without her.**

"Really?" she asked me, smiling.

I smiled back at her, "Of course, Liss. I would never leave you alone, and you know that."

She put the book down and hugged me, "You're the best, Rose. I love you so much."

"Love you too, sis," I said in her hair.

"AWWWW," Mia said, smiling, "You two are just so cute."

Lissa pulled back and smiled at Mia, then continued reading.

**Through our bond, I could feel her trickle of hope.**

**"Who's going to put in the extra time?" demanded Kirova."You?"**

"Yes," I said.

**Dimitri's argument came to an abrupt stop. "Well, that's not what I—"**

**Kirova crossed her arms with satisfaction. "Yes. That's what I thought."**

**Clearly at a loss, he frowned. His eyes flicked toward Lissa and me, and I wondered what he pathetic girls, looking at him with big, pleading eyes? Or two runaways who'd broken out of a high-security school and swiped half of Lissa's inheritance?**

I turned back at Dimitri.

"A little bit of both," he said.

**"Yes," he said finally. "I can mentor Rose. I'll give her extra sessions along with her normal ones."**

"Now I know that this wasn't a very good idea," Kirova muttered.

I smirked at her.

**"And then what?" retorted Kirova angrily. "She goes unpunished?"**

**"Find some other way to punish her," answered Dimitri. "Guardian numbers have gone down too much to risk losing another. A girl, in particular."**

**His unspoken words made me shudder, reminding me of my earlier statement about "blood whores." Few dhampir girls became guardians anymore.**

**Victor suddenly spoke up from his corner. "I'm inclined to agree with Guardian Belikov. Sending Rose away would be a shame, a waste of talent."**

"Yeah, I was just a plan of your sick plan, you bastard," I said, glaring at the book.

"Rose," Lissa said, "he was however a family friend. I still love him," she said.

I felt stupid now, "Sorry," I told her.

"It's ok."

**Ms. Kirova stared out her window. It was completely black outside. With the Academy's nocturnal schedule,_morning_and _afternoon_were relative , and they kept the windows tinted to block out excess light.**

**When she turned back around, Lissa met her eyes. "Please, Ms. Kirova. Let Rose stay."**

**Oh, Lissa,I thought. _Be careful._Using compulsion**

"MISS DRAGOMIR!" yelled Kirova and everyone flinched. "How dare you use compulsion on me! You're going to be in so much troube-" she said and I cut her off.

"Oh, come on! Leave her alone! That was 4 months ago, you can't punish her now. And if you didn't see back then that she was using a little bit of compulsion, then it's not her falut."

Kirova mumbled something that I didn't hear and Lissa smiled gratefully at me.

**on another Moroi was dangerous—particularly in front of witnesses. But Lissa was only using a tiny bit, and we needed all the help we could get.**

**Fortunately, no one seemed to realize what was happening. I don't even know if the compulsion made a difference, but finally, Kirova sighed. **

**"If Miss Hathaway stays, here's how it will be." She turned to me. "Your continued enrollment at St. Vladimir's is strictly probationary. Step out of line _once,_and you're gone. You will attend all classes and required trainings for novices your age. You will also train with Guardian Belikov in every spare moment you have—before _and_after classes. Other than that, you are banned from all social activities, except meals, and will stay in your dorm. Fail to comply with any of this, and you will be sent…away."**

"That was really harsh, Ellen," my mom said to Kirova. Huh. I didn't know they were on first name basis.

"She needed to learn her lesson," Kirova said.

"Yeah, but you can't ban her from all social activities. A teenager must socialize, that's what they do, actually."

Kirova just staied there, and I mouthed a _thank you _to my mom. She just nodded.

**I gave a harsh laugh. "Banned from all social activities? Are you trying to keep us apart?" I nodded toward Lissa. "Afraid we'll run away again?"**

"Yees," said Adrian. "Even I realized that."

I rolled my eyes, "Whatever."

**"I'm taking precautions. As I'm sure you recall,you were never properly punished for destroying school property. You have a lot to make up for." Her thin lips tightened into a straight line. "You are being offered a very generous deal. I suggest you don't let your attitude endanger it."**

**I started to say it wasn't generous at all, but then I caught Dimitri's gaze. It was hard to read. He might have been telling me he believed in me. He might have been telling me I was an idiot to keep fighting with Kirova. I didn't know.**

"Both," said Dimitri.

**Looking away from him for the second time during the meeting, I stared at the floor, conscious of Lissa beside me and her own encouragement burning in our bond. At long last, I exhaled and glanced back up at the headmistress.**

Everyone leaned forward, though they knew what I said.

**"Fine.I accept."**

"That's the end of the chapter, guys. Who wants to read next?" asked Lissa.

"I will," said Dimitri.

"Guys, I'm hungry," I said.

"Me too," said everyone.

"Who knows how to cook?" Lissa asked and Christian raised a hand.

I raised my eyebrows at him, "Really?" He nodded. "Huh. That's great. Because when you and Lissa'll get married and you'll have little Pyro's and little princesses running around the big house we all 4 are going to live in the future, you'll cook," I said, smirking.

"Who said that you and Dimitri are going to live with us?" Christian asked.

"Guardian protocol. Me and Dimitri are going to be Lissa's guardians and we need to stay close to her. So yeah," I said, shrugging and Christian groaned.

"You guys stay here 'till I'll prepare something to eat," said Christian and made his way to the kitchen.

* * *

**Done. **

**I had a very weird dream last night. I dreamt that I was Rose and my best friend was Lissa and we were sisters. And our parents were Michael Jackson and Madonna. And Dimitri and Adrian were brothers too. And their parents were Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. And they were our boyfriends. Weird, huh?**

**Review or I'll make Dimitri kill Rose!**


	5. Chapter 3

**NAWWW! Thank you so much for your amazing reviews, story alerts and favorite story/author. You guys are the best, I swear!**

**And I'm so, so, so sorry that I didn't update in a long time. I was busy with school and all that. And I've tried to focus more on school lately because I have my exams in May. Ugh. How ugly.**

**But here I am now, with a new chapter !**

* * *

While we were waiting for Christian to come up with the food, me and everyone else were in 'the reading room', sharing lifetime stories, memories, confessing something or just telling jokes. When we were laughing hard, you could hear Christian saying 'What?" or "What's so funny?" and neither of us responded him, of course.

While I was telling everyone my worst fight with Lissa where we ended up crying and never speaking with each other for a week, Christian came into the room with a tray full of fries and steak.

"My hero," I said, eating a frie.

"Ok, so what were you guys talking about?" asked Christian when he sat down, next to Lissa.

"Rose was telling everyone our first and worst fight," she said, cutting the steak.

"Really? You two-" Christian gestured to me and Lissa, "-had a fight?"

"I was as surprised as you, buddy," said Adrian.

"Wanna tell me what happened?" asked Christian.

"Yes. So, me and Lissa were in 6th grade. We had all the afternoon classes together, so I could sit with her. When she saw me approaching her, she grinned towards Natalie –yes, she was sitting with her before I came-. She asked me how was my day, how I was feeling, blah blah blah. And then I noticed a bottle on her desk. I was a simple bottle, like the ones you take when you go cycling or jogging. 'Ooh, cool. Water,' I said, taking the bottle and putting it on my mouth to drink from it. Then, she was like, 'No, no Rose. It's not water! Don't drink it!' but I didn't listen to her, and I drank from it anyways. But then, I noticed she was right. It was not water. It was vodka," everyone gasped when I said this, except Kirova and Stan, who knew about this incident. "I put it down, gagging. Whatever. But then, everyone found out that she brought vodka at school, and they all began to drink from it. But then, one girl got pretty drunk –I don't remember her name, all I know is that after this incident, everyone called her Drunkie-," there were a few snickeres from my friends.

"Denisse. Denisse it was her name," said Lissa.

"Oh, yeah. Right. Then, Denisse went to Kirova's office with Natalie and said, 'I want,' and Kirova was like, 'What?' and she was like, 'Vodka.' " Laugher erupted from the room, "Then, Kirova shooed her and I thought that she forgot, but she showed up in Salvic Art period, which happened to be the next, and searched through Lissa's backpack, until she found the bottle. She smelled it –the bottle was empty now, by the way- , turned a shade of tomato red and started to yell at Lissa and to slap her across the face. Then she turned towards Denisse and asked her who drank except Lissa –yeah, she drank from it too-. Then she showed Natalie with her thumb. Kirova did the same thing she did with Lissa, and then that bitch said, 'But Rose drank too!'. Kirova's anger turned in fury, I remember, and she yelled at me, 'Why did you drink from it? Why?'. Then, my brain couldn't think of a good lie, and I said what it came first in my mind, that Lissa made me drink from it."

"Rose!" everyone except Alberta, Stan, Kirova, Eddie and Lissa yelled at me. "I can't believe that you betrayed Lissa like that!" said Christian.

"I told you! My brain couldn't work good under all that pressure. Now let me continue with the story. Then Lissa started crying and begged me to say the truth, but Kirova wouldn't listen to me anymore. Kirova called Lissa's parents, they prohibited Lissa to go out with me because they thought that I taught her to do this, but she said that it was all her idea and things like that. Then, after that horrible class, everyone came to Lissa's desk, tried to console her –it was me through them too-, but all she did was to cry. And I cried too. I didn't cry of what happened. I cried because Lissa wouldn't want to talk to me anymore. The whole week was miserable after that. When she stole a glance at me and caught me looking at her, she was looking immediately in another direction, she didn't even say a 'Hi,' to me," I said, and I could feel Lissa's sadness through the bond.

"And how did you two made up?" asked Adrian, chewing on his steak.

"After a week. Kirova asked me and Lissa to tell the truth and that's what we did. She admitted that she brought the bottle at school because of a stupid dare, and I admitted that she didn't make me drink from the bottle. It took Lissa one more day to forgive me, though," I said, eating a frie. **(AN: Before you ask, yeah, that really happened to me and my best friend in 6****th**** grade)**

We ate in silent after that, and when we finished eating, Dimitri took the book and cleared his throat.

"Chapter three."

**SENDING US STRAIGHT TO CLASS after our meeting seemed beyond cruel, but that's exactly what Kirova did. Lissa was led away, and I watched her go, glad the bond would allow me to keep reading her emotional temperature.**

"Stalkeer," sang Adrian and Eddie, then they high-fived.

"I'm not a stalker. Christian is a stalker," I said, earning a glare from him.

"Huh? What do you mean?" asked Mia confued.

"You'll see."

**They actually sent me to one of the guidance counselors first.**

"That ancient old man that worked for the Academy for more than 100 years?" asked Christian, his face perfectly still.

I snickeres, "Yeah. Him."

**He was an ancient Moroi guy, one I remembered from before I'd left. I honestly couldn't believe he was still around. The guy was so freaking old, he should have retired. Or died.**

My friends laughed, while Dimitri chuckled.

"Oh, Rose," sighed Lissa.

**The visit took all of five minutes. He said nothing about my return and asked a few questions about what classes I'd taken in Chicago and Portland .**

"Oh, yeah, that reminds me," said Eddie, "What classes did you take when you were on the run?"

"The same boring classes humans take," I said, giving him an _are-you-serious_ look. "Keep reading, Dimitri."

**He compared those against my old file and hastily scrawled out a new schedule. I took it sullenly and headed out to my first class.**

**1st Period Advanced Guardian Combat Techniques**

**2nd Period Bodyguard Theory and Personal Protection 3**

**3rd Period Weight Training and Conditioning**

**4th Period Senior Language Arts (Novices)**

—**Lunch—**

**5th Period Animal Behavior and Physiology**

**6th Period Pre-calculus**

**7th Period Moroi Culture 4**

**8th Period Slavic Art**

Every student from St. Vlad's groaned.

"Slavic Art was the most boring class ever," Lissa said.

"Agreed," I said.

**Ugh. I'd forgotten how long the Academy's school day was. Novices and Moroi took separate classes during the first half of the day, which meant I wouldn't see Lissa until after lunch—if we had any afternoon classes together. **

Me and Lissa high-fived.

**Most of them were standard senior classes, so I felt my odds were pretty good. Slavic art struck me as the kind of elective no one signed up for, so hopefully they'd stuck her in there too.**

Lissa groaned again.

"What it's wrong with Slavic Art?" asked Kirova exasperately.

"It's boring," I said simply.

**Dimitri and Alberta escorted me to the guardians' gym for first period, neither one acknowledging my existence. Walking behind them, I saw how Alberta wore her hair in a short, pixie cut that showed her promise mark and **_**molnija**_**marks. A lot of female guardians did this. It didn't matter so much for me now, since my neck had no tattoos yet, **

"I have now," I said proudly.

**but I didn't want to ever cut my hair.**

"Don't you ever cut your hair," said Dimitri, playing with my hair.

"I'm not gonna cut it," I said.

**She and Dimitri didn't say anything and walked along almost like it was any other day.**

"What did you want us to do?" asked Alberta, amused. "To share interests like we were best friends forever?"

"A simple 'how are you feeling?' would have been nice," I mumbled.

**When we arrived, the reactions of my peers indicated it was anything but. They were in the middle of setting up when we entered the gym, and just like in the commons, all eyes fell on me. I couldn't decide if I felt like a rock star or a circus freak.**

"Circus freak for sure," said Christian, smirking at me.

I glared at him, "Nope. That's your job," now it was his time to glare.

**All right, then. If I was going to be stuck here for a while, I wasn't going to act afraid of them all anymore. Lissa and I had once held this school's respect, and it was time to remind everyone of that.**

"You still hold school's respect, Rose," said Eddie.

**Scanning the staring, openmouthed novices, I looked for a familiar face. Most of them were guys. One caught my eye, and I could barely hold back my grin.**

My good mood vanished, and I caught myself staring at the floor.

**"Hey Mason, wipe the drool off your face. If you're going to think about me naked, do it on your own time."**

My eyes were filled with unwanted tears, and I could barely hold them back. I glanced up at Eddie, and I saw that he was as sad as I was.

I closed my eyes. "Mason," I whimpered, and one tear leaked from my right eye.

I opened my eyes again and Dimitri started to whisper in my ear something in Russian. I had no idea what his words meant, but they really calmed me down.

I looked around the room, and everyone had a sad expression on their faces.

"Hey, Belikov," said Adrian, "when you said that line, I bet Rose enjoyed the mental image," he said smirking, trying to cheer us. And it worked. A few snickeres erupted from the room and Adrian looked smug.

**A few snorts and snickers broke the awed silence, and Mason Ashford snapped out of his haze, giving me a lopsided smile. With red hair that stuck up everywhere and a smattering of freckles, he was nice-looking, though not exactly hot.**

I looked down in shame, remembering again how I used him to get Dimitri out of my head.

**He was also one of the funniest guys I knew. We'd been good friends back in the day.**

"Back in the day? Really Rose? How old are you, 60?" said Christian, shaking his head.

I shrugged.

**"This _is_my time, Hathaway. I'm leading today's session."**

**"Oh yeah?" I retorted. "Huh. Well, I guess this is a good time to think about me naked, then."**

"Psh, please Rose. It's always a good time to think about you naked, no matter what," said Adrian, cheking me out. Dimitri glared at him, then smiled amused when he read the next part.

**"It's **_**always**_**a good a time to think about you naked," added someone nearby, breaking the tension further. Eddie Castile.**

Everyone laughed, while Kirova, Stan, my mom and Alberta were shaking their heads.

"For the naked version of Rosemarie Hathaway!" said Adrian, raising his fist.

"For the naked version of Rosemarie Hathaway," agreed Eddie, slamming his fist against Adrian's.

I rolled my eyes while my friends laughed again.

**Another friend of mine.**

Eddie pouted, " 'Another friend of mine'?

"Ok, ok. Eddie Castille. My big brother," I said and he smiled.

"Much better little sister," he said, winking.

**Dimitri shook his head and walked off, muttering something in Russian that didn't sound complimentary.**

I turned back to him, "What did you say, anyway?"

" 'Oh God, what did I got myself into?'" he said.

"And do you know now?" I asked him, winking.

He smiled at me, "Of course," then he bent down and kissed me, a kiss that soon turned into a full make out session.

The boys made some gagging sounds, "GET A FREAKING ROOM!" they all screamed.

Me and Dimitri broke the kiss and glared at them.

**But as for me…well, just like that, I was one of the novices again. They were an easygoing bunch, less focused on pedigree and politics than the Moroi students.**

Mia sighed, "Lucky you."

**The class engulfed me, and I found myself laughing and seeing those I'd nearly forgotten about.**

"Note the _nearly_," I said, when Eddie opened his mouth to say something.

**Everyone wanted to know where we'd been; apparently Lissa and I had become legends.**

"You two were always legends," said Christian.

**I couldn't tell them why we'd left, of course, so I offered up a lot of taunts and wouldn't-you-like-to-knows that served just as well.**

**The happy reunion lasted a few more minutes before the adult guardian who oversaw the training came over and scolded Mason for neglecting his duties. Still grinning, he barked out orders to everyone, explaining what exercises to start with. Uneasily I realized I didn't know most of them.**

"Psh, of course," said Eddie.

**"Come on, Hathaway," he said, taking my arm. **

"Who?" asked Christian.

"Mason," I answered.

**"You can be my partner. Let's see what you've been doing all this time."**

**An hour later, he had his answer.**

"He beat the shit out of you, right?" asked Adrian.

"If you'd shut up, you'll find out," I said, glaring at him.

**"Not practicing, huh?"**

**"Ow,"I groaned,**

Adrian burst out laughing, "He _did_ beat the shit out of you."

I shot a death glare at him.

**momentarily incapable of normal speech. He extended a hand and helped me up from the mat he'd knocked me down on—about fifty times.**

**"I hate you," I told him, rubbing a spot on my thigh that was going to have a wicked bruise tomorrow.**

**"You'd hate me more if I held back."**

**"Yeah, that's true," I agreed, staggering along as the class put the equipment back.**

**"You actually did okay."**

Christian scoffed.

**"What? I just had my ass handed to me."**

"At least she admits."

**"Well, of course you did. It's been two years. But hey, you're still walking. That's something." He grinned mockingly.**

**"Did I mention I hate you?"**

**He flashed me another smile, which quickly faded to something more serious. "Don't take this the wrong way.…I mean, you really are a scrapper, but there's no way you'll be able to take your trials in the spring—"**

**"They're making me take extra practice sessions," I explained. Not that it mattered. I planned on getting Lissa and me out of here before these practices really became an issue.**

"Rose!" my mom yelled.

I rolled my eyes, "Keep reading, Dimitri."

**"I'll be ready."**

**"Extra sessions with who ?"**

**"That tall guy. Dimitri."**

Dimitri looked at me amused.

"What? You're tall," I said innocently.

He just shook his head, smiling.

**Mason stopped walking and stared at me. "You're putting in extra time with Belikov?"**

**"Yeah, so what?"**

**"So the man is a _god."_**

Laughter.

"So this is where you got it," said Dimitri, laughing.

I nodded my head, "Yes."

**"Exaggerate much?" I asked.**

Dimitri frowned, "Should I take this as an insult?"

I shook my head, "Of course not."

**"No, I'm serious. I mean, he's all quiet and antisocial usually, but when he fights…wow. If you think you're hurting now, you're going to be dead when he's done with you."**

Dimitri smiled smugly, and I knew that he mentally thanked Mason for his compliment.

"I wouldn't have wanted to be in your place," said Eddie.

** else to improve my day.**

**I elbowed him and went on to second period. That class covered the essentials of being a bodyguard and was required for all seniors. Actually, it was the third in a series that had started junior year. That meant I was behind in this class too, but I hoped protecting Lissa in the real world had given me some insight.**

**Our instructor was Stan Alto,**

"Ugh," I groaned.

Stan glared at me in response and I glared back.

**whom we referred to simply as "Stan" behind his back and "Guardian Alto" in formal settings.**

"Of course," muttered Stan and then sighed.

"What, Stanny Nanny? Don't you like people who are straight to the point?" I asked in a childish voice, and my friends snickered.

"Disrespectful girl," muttered Stan, but I heard it. I glared even more.

**He was a little older than Dimitri,**

I turned back to Dimitri.

"With how many years are you younger than him?"

He thought for a moment. "I think like … 4 years or something like that."

"Oh."

**but not nearly as tall, and he always looked pissed off.**

"Only when you are around," said Eddie.

"Not true," I said.

"Yes, true," argued Christian. "He is the only student that he _truly _hates."

"Yes," said Stan, looking at me and I shot him a dirty look.

"You're going to miss me when I graduate, Stan. Your classes will be boring without me and you know it," I told him.

"I would rather prefer boring classes than being in the same room with a girl like you," said Stan, harshly and Dimitri glared at him.

"Stan," he growled and Stan muttered something that I didn't hear.

**Today,that look intensified when he walked into the classroom and saw me sitting there. His eyes widened in mock surprise as he circled the room and came to stand beside my desk.**

I glared at him, remembering the day.

**"What's this? No one told me we had a guest speaker here today. Rose Hathaway. What a privilege! How very **_**generous**_**of you to take time out of your busy schedule and share your knowledge with us."**

I growled and muttered, "Bastard."

"Hathaway," growled Stan.

I shot him my most innocent look, "Yes, Guardian Alto?"

He just shook his head.

**I felt my cheeks burning, but in a great show of self-control, I stopped myself from telling him to fuck off.**

"I'm surprised you didn't do it," said Lissa.

"Me too," I agreed.

**I'm pretty sure my face must have delivered that message,**

"Very clearly," muttered Stan.

**however, because his sneer increased. He gestured for me to stand up.**

**"Well, come on, come on. Don't sit there! Come up to the front so you can help me lecture the class."**

"Stan!" my mom yelled at him and everyone flinched. "Did you embarrass her in the front of the class?" said my mom through gritted teeth. Huh.

Stan looked her levely in the eye. "I had to. She needed to learn her lesson," he said, and I could say that he was trying hard to keep his anger under control.

"Yes, but not like that!" my mom yelled again. "If this is what I think it is, I swear Stan, you'll gonna pay," growled my mother.

I just stared at my mom. I can't believe that she was actually on my side. She gave me a small smile.

**I sank into my seat. "You don't really mean—"**

**The taunting smile dried up. "I mean _exactly_what I say, Hathaway. Go to the front of the class."**

My mom clenched her fists into balls and sighed loudly, trying to calm her down.

**A thick silence enveloped the room. Stan was a scary instructor, and most of the class was too awed to laugh at my disgrace quite yet. Refusing to crack, I strode up to the front of the room and turned to face the class. I gave them a bold look and tossed my hair over my shoulders,**

"Wait," said Mia. "Didn't you have fresh bitemarks on your neck? How didn't they see it?"

I thought about it for a moment. "Ya know? You're right. I don't know. I think they are not that observant."

**earning a few sympathetic smiles from my friends. I then noticed I had a larger audience than expected. A few guardians—including Dimitri—**

"Of course you saw him," said Adrian.

**lingered in the back of the room. Outside the Academy, guardians focused on one-on-one protection. Here, guardians had a lot more people to protect _and_they had to train the novices. So rather than follow any one person around, they worked shifts guarding the school as a whole and monitoring classes.**

**"So, Hathaway," said Stan cheerfully, strolling back up to the front with me. "Enlighten us about your protective techniques."**

**"My…techniques?"**

**"Of presumably you must have had some sort of plan the rest of us couldn't understand when you took an underage Moroi royal out of the Academy and exposed her to constant Strigoi threats."**

I groaned, "Ugh! I didn't - you know what? Forget it. I don't know why I even waste my breath for some hard headed like you."

**It was the Kirova lecture all over again, except with more witnesses.**

**"We never ran into any Strigoi," I replied stiffly.**

**"Obviously," he said with a snicker. "I already figured that out, seeing as how you're still alive."**

I held back some swear words. And trust me, there were a lot of them.

**I wanted to shout that maybe I could have defeated a Strigoi, but after getting beat up in the last class, I now suspected I couldn't have survived an attack by Mason, let alone an actual Strigoi.**

"At least she sees it," said Eddie.

I glared at him. "Shut up."

**When I didn't say anything, Stan started pacing in front of the class.**

**"So what'd you do? How'd you make sure she stayed safe? Did you avoid going out at night?"**

**"Sometimes."That was true—especially when we'd first run away. We'd relaxed a little after months went by with no attacks.**

**"Sometimes,"he repeated in a high-pitched voice, making my answer sound incredibly stupid.**

My mom glared at him

**"Well then, I suppose you slept during the day and stayed on guard at night."**

**"Er…no."**

Dimitri and Alberta shook their heads.

"Oh, Rose," muttered Alberta with an exasperated tone.

**"No? But that's one of the first things mentioned in the chapter on solo guarding. Oh wait, you wouldn't know that because _you weren't here."_**

"Harsh," said Eddie.

"Wait," said Christian suddenly. "Eddie, Adrian, come with me," he said, and walked to the kitchen. We all looked at each other with confused expressions. Silence fell, everyone trying to hear what they were saying but nothing. I think the walls were soundproof.

"Do you think that they are gay and they are hooking up every night and right now they are planning some sort of plan to sneak in Christian's room and have threesome tonight, seeing as the walls are soundproof and we won't hear anything?" I asked dryly looking at the wall in front of me, my words coming out of my mouth fast.

Mia cracked up laughing while Lissa slapped my arm.

"Rose! Don't talk like that!" she said, but I could hear the amusement in her voice.

"What?" I asked, looking at her. "It was just a theory. And ouch," I said, rubbing the spot where Lissa hit me. "For a moroi, you're pretty strong, girl."

Then, 'the gay group' came back and sat down again. Before I could say anything about their 'gay time in the kitchen', Dimitri started reading.

**I swallowed back more swear words. "I watched the area whenever we went out," I said, needing to defend myself.**

**"Oh? Well that's something. Did you use Carnegie's Quadrant Surveillance Method or the Rotational Survey?"**

**I didn't say anything.**

**"Ah. I'm guessing you used the Hathaway Glance-Around-When-You-Remember-To Method."**

"Hey!" my mom yelled at Stan.

"Mom, clam down. The insult was directed at me, not you," I told her.

"Yeah, but we share the same last name…"

**"No!" I exclaimed angrily. "That's not true. I watched her. She's still alive, isn't she?"**

**He walked back up to me and leaned toward my face."Because you got _lucky."_**

"He was right, Rose," agreed Alberta. "You really got lucky."

I rolled my eyes. I was too tired to argue with her now. "Whatever."

Stan looked smug that someone agreed with him. And that that _someone _was not someone related to him.

**"Strigoi aren't lurking around every corner out there," I shot back. "It's not like what we've been taught. It's safer than you guys make it sound."**

"You were right here … a little bit, though," said Alberta.

**"Safer? **_**Safer? **_**We are at war with the Strigoi!" he yelled. I could smell coffee on his breath, he was so close.**

Dimitri glared at Stan.

"Do. Not. Stay. That. Close. To. Her. Anymore," growled Dimitri.

**"One of them could walk right up to you and snap your pretty little neck before you even noticed him—**

I turned to Stan with a seductive smile on my lips. "Do you think that my neck it's pretty?" I asked with a seductive voice, moving my neck so that my hair was on my back and bared my neck, storking it.

I saw something in Stan's eyes as I tossed my hair back and smiled at him, but then it disappeared as fast as it appeared. _Lust_, I thought. Ha.

**and he'd barely break a sweat doing it. You might have more speed and strength than a Moroi or a human, but you are nothing,_nothing,_compared to a Strigoi. They are deadly, and they are powerful.**

**And do you know what makes them more powerful?"**

**No way was I going to let this jerk make me cry.**

My mom stared at him with wide eyes, but calmed herself down and looked at the floor. It's funny that just a hour ago she made me cry like I never cried in my life, and now she was mad at somebody that was were about to do that.

**Looking away from him, I tried to focus on something else. My eyes rested on Dimitri**

"Ooooh," said Adrian.

and the other guardians. They were watching my humiliation, stone-faced.

**"Moroi blood," I whispered.**

**"What was that?" asked Stan loudly. "I didn't catch it."**

"Sure. And I'm Madonna," I said, glaring at him.

**I spun back around to face him."Moroi blood! Moroi blood makes them stronger."**

**He nodded in satisfaction and took a few steps back. "Yes. It does. It makes them stronger and harder to destroy. They'll kill and drink from a human or dhampir, but they want Moroi blood more than anything else. They seek it. They've turned to the dark side to gain immortality, and they want to do whatever they can to keep that immortality. Desperate Strigoi have attacked Moroi in public. Groups of Strigoi have raided academies exactly like this one. There are Strigoi who have lived for thousands of years and fed off generations of Moroi. They're almost impossible to kill. And _that_is why Moroi numbers are dropping. They aren't strong enough—even with guardians— to protect themselves. Some Moroi don't even see the point of running anymore and are simply turning Strigoi by choice. And as the Moroi disappear…"**

**"…so do the dhampirs," I finished.**

Everyone shuddered as Dimitri read those words.

**"Well," he said, licking sprayed spit off his lips.**

"Ewww," said Mia.

I nodded, wrinkling my face. "I know. I'm surprised he didn't even spit on me."

"Eww, shut up, Rose," she said again.

**"It looks like you learned something after all. Now we'll have to see if you can learn enough to pass this class and qualify for your field experience next semester."**

**Ouch. I spent the rest of that horrible class—in my seat, thankfully—replaying those last words in my mind. The senior-year field experience was the best part of a novice's education. We'd have no classes for half a semester. Instead, we'd each be assigned a Moroi student to guard and follow around. The adult guardians would monitor us and test us with staged attacks and other threats. How a novice passed**

**that field experience was almost as important as all the rest of her grades combined. It could influence which Moroi she got assigned to after graduation.**

**And me? There was only one Moroi I wanted.**

"Aww, I want you too, little dhampir! We are meant to be, and you know it," Adrian said, making a heart with his hands.

"I was talking about Lissa, you moron! Plus, I didn't even know you back then," I told him. "And my life was much better because of that," I muttered, shaking my head.

**Two classes later, **

"Nah!" exclaimed Eddie and put his palm in fronf of Adrian and Christian. "Pay."

They groaned and put 20 bucks each in Eddie's hand. He smirked and shoved them in his pocket.

"What the hell?" I asked confused.

"We made a little bet. I bet on 20 bucks that you won't jump on Stan to beat the crap out of him in the front of the class, and they said you will. And now I have 40 bucks," he said smugly and I smiled gratefully at him.

"Thanks for having faith in me."

**I finally earned my lunch escape. As I stumbled across campus toward the commons, Dimitri fell into step beside me, not looking particularly godlike—unless you counted his godly good looks.**

Dimitri blushed while everyone –except the adults- snickered.

"Naw. Rosie thinks Dimitri has _godly good looks_," said Christian in a girly voice.

"Naw, _Rosie _thinks she's going to rip your head off if you don't stop with the useless comments," I told him, my voice girly at first, but then turning back to my normal one.

**"I suppose you saw what happened in Stan's class?" I asked, not bothering with titles.**

"When do you?" asked Lissa.

"Always, Princess Vasilisa," I told her, smirking. I knew she hated when someone called her like that, and I loved to call her like this sometimes just to tease her.

She just groaned.

**"Yes."**

"Straight to the point," said Eddie.

**"And you don't think that was unfair?"**

**"Was he right? Do you think you were fully prepared to protect Vasilisa?"**

"Lissa," corrected her.

"But I like Vasilisa. It sounds so … mystical. Fascinating," I told her with a mysterious tone in my voice.

She shot me a playfully glare.

**I looked down at the ground. "I kept her alive," I mumbled.**

**"How did you do fighting against your classmates today?"**

"Ouch," said Adrian. Then he shook his head. "That's not how you charm a girl, Belikov. _That's_ how you charm a girl," he said, then crawled towards me. He took my hand in his, while his other hand staied on his heart. He looked me straight in the eyes. "Do you have a map? Because I got lost in your eyes."

I couldn't help it. I burst out laughing, along with everyone. _Everyone. _Well … except Adrian.

"That's all you can do, Ivashkov?" asked Dimitri then he turned me around so I was facing him. "Watch this." He put one strand of my hair behind my ear, looking straight into my eyes. Then, he leaned forward and whispered some things in my ear. _Dirty _things. _Very _dirty things. And he even nibbled my ear. Then he pulled back to look at my expression, who was priceless. I just sat there, with my mouth hanging open, already turned on. He smirked at me, then at Adrian.

"Okay, whatever you did to her, stop now. Her aura is a weird shade of red and pink, which means she is very turned on, and it's diriving me insane," said Adrian, shaking his head.

Then I got out of my trance and smirked at him. "See? That's –" I pointed Dimitri with my thumb, "a real man. Not you getting lost in my eyes."

He just shrugged. "I bet I had more girlfriends than him."

**The question was mean. I didn't answer and knew I didn't need to. I'd had another training class after Stan's, and no doubt Dimitri had watched me get beat up there too.**

**"If you can't fight _them_—"**

**"Yeah, yeah, I know," I snapped.**

"Rose," my mom said, shaking her head. "That's not how you talk with your instructor."

"Yeaah," said Christian. "Instructor." He was smiling like an idiot and wagged his eyebrows at me and Dimtri.

"Uhuh. He was my instructor then. I wasn't even in love with him back then, so.."

Dimitri gasped. "But I loved you ever since the very beginning," he said, in a mock shock tone.

I punched his chest. "Oh, shut up. You're turning into a new Adrian and I don't like that."

"Hey!" screamed Adrian. "I heard that!"

I rolled my eyes at him.

**He slowed his long stride to match my pain-filled one. "You're strong and fast by nature. You just need to keep yourself trained. Didn't you play any sports while you were gone?"**

"If glancing is a sport, then sure. She did," answered Lissa.

I turned to face her, a confused expression on my face. "When did you turn into a sarcastic little fuck?"

She smirked at me. "Really, Rose?"

I shrugged.

**"Sure," I shrugged. "Now and then."**

**"You didn't join any teams?"**

**"Too much I'd wanted to practice that much, I'd have stayed here."**

Exasperated sighs filled the room, along with, 'Oh, Rose,' or, 'Rose, Rose, Rose.'

**He gave me an exasperated look. "You'll never be able to really protect the princess if you don't hone your skills. You'll always be lacking."**

**"I'll be able to protect her," I said fiercely.**

"Yes. Yes you will," said Lissa and Dimitri at the same time. They looked at each other, then Lissa laughed. "Wow. That was weird," said Lissa and I nodded.

**"You have no guarantees of being assigned to her, you know—for your field experience _or_after you graduate." Dimitri's voice was low and unapologetic. They hadn't given me a warm and fuzzy mentor.**

"If I would be a 'warm and fuzzy mentor', then you wouldn't have progressed that much," said Dimitri.

I moved my hand in front of his face, "Yeah, yeah. I got it."

**"No one wants to waste the bond— but no one's going to give her an inadequate guardian either. If you want to be with her, then you need to work for it. You have your lessons. You have me. Use us or don't.**

"Oh, I bet she will use you in training," said Adrian, then smirked. "_Bed _training."

My mother, me and Dimitri glared at him, while I showed him my middle finger.

**You're an ideal choice to guard Vasilisa when you both graduate—if you can prove you're worthy. I hope you will."**

**"Lissa, call her Lissa," **

"Did you even hear what he said to you, Rose?" asked my mom exasperately.

"Of course, I said. I just corrected him."

**I corrected. She hated her full name, much preferring the Americanized nickname.**

Lissa nodded in approval.

**He walked away, and suddenly, I didn't feel like such a badass anymore.**

"You were never a badass, Rose," said Christian.

I flipped him off.

**By now, I'd burned up a lot of time leaving class. Most everyone else had long since sprinted inside the commons for lunch, eager to maximize their social time. I'd almost made it back there myself when a voice under the door's overhang called to me.**

**"Rose?"**

**Peering in the voice's direction, I caught sight of Victor Dashkov,**

I groaned.

**his kind face**

"Kind face?" I exclaimed. Then I baged my head on my palm. "Stupid, stupid, stupid."

**smiling at me as he leaned on a cane near the building's wall. His two guardians stood nearby at a polite distance.**

**"Mr. Dash—er,Your Highness. Hi."**

Christian and Adrian burst out laughing.

"Rose and the titles: big dilemma," said Adrian.

**I caught myself just in time, having nearly forgotten Moroi royal terms. I hadn't used them while living among humans. The Moroi chose their rulers from among twelve royal families. The eldest in the family got the title of "prince" or "princess." Lissa had gotten hers because she was the only one left in her line.**

**"How was your first day?" he asked.**

**"Not over yet."I tried to think of something conversational. "Are you visiting here for a while?"**

**"I'll be leaving this afternoon after I say hello to Natalie. When I heard Vasilisa—and you—**

I sighed. "Always an afterthought."

**had returned, I simply had to come see you."**

**I nodded, not sure what else to say. He was more Lissa's friend than mine.**

**"I wanted to tell you…" He spoke hesitantly. "I understand the gravity of what you did, but I think Headmistress Kirova failed to acknowledge something. You _did_keep Vasilisa safe all this time. That is impressive."**

**"Well, it's not like I faced down Strigoi or anything," I said.**

**"But you faced down some things?"**

**"Sure. The school sent psi-hounds once."**

"The school hasn't sent them," said Kirova.

"I know that now, thanks for stating the obvious," I said.

**"Remarkable."**

**"Not really. Avoiding them was pretty easy."**

**He laughed. "I've hunted with them before. They aren't **_**that**_**easy to evade, not with their powers and intelligence."**

"The answer was right in front of me and I didn't see it!" I exclaimed, throwing my hands in the air. Then I banged my head on my palm again. "Stupid, stupid, stupid."

Christian snickered. "I'll never get tired of this sight. Rose banging her head. Nice."

**It was true. Psi-hounds were one of many types of magical creatures that wandered the world, creatures that humans never knew about or else didn't believe they'd really seen. The hounds traveled in packs and shared a sort of psychic communication that made them particularly deadly to their ****prey—as did the fact that they resembled mutant wolves. "Did you face anything else?"**

**I shrugged."Little things here and there."**

**"Remarkable," he repeated.**

**"Lucky, I think. It turns out I'm really behind in all this guardian stuff." I sounded just like Stan now.**

**"You're a smart girl. You'll catch up. And you also have your bond."**

**I looked away. My ability to "feel" Lissa had been such a secret for solong, it felt weird to have others know about it.**

**"The histories are full of stories of guardians who could feel when their charges were in danger," Victor continued."I've made a hobby of studying up** **on it and some of the ancient ways. I've heard it's a tremendous asset."**

"Again. The answer was there and I didn't see it!"

**"I guess." I shrugged. **_**What a boring hobby,**_**I thought, imagining him poring over prehistoric histories in some dank library covered in spiderwebs.**

Adrian shook his head. "That's not how it actually is, Rose."

I scoffed and glared at him. "And you know that because … ?"

**Victor tilted his head, curiosity all over his face. Kirova and the others had had the same look when we'd mentioned our connection, like we were lab rats. "What is it like—if you don't mind me asking?"**

"Oh God," I said, facepalm-ing.

**"It's…I don't know. I just sort of always have this hum of how she feels. Usually it's just emotions. We can't send messages or anything." I didn't tell him about slipping into her head. That part of it was hard even for me to understand.**

**"But it doesn't work the other way? She doesn't sense you?"**

**I shook my head.**

"Jeez, Rose. Give him the answers, why don't you, Rose?" said Lissa sarcastically.

**His face shone with wonder. "How did it happen?"**

**"I don't know," I said, still glancing away."Just started two years ago."**

**He frowned."Near the time of the accident?"**

**Hesitantly, I nodded.**

Christian sighed exasperately. "You're stupid, Rose. No offence."

"No offence taken," I said and his face was full of confusion. "After all, you're my _big brother_, no? We must share some traits," I said and he glared at me.

**The accident was**_**not**_**something I wanted to talk about, that was for sure. Lissa's memories were bad enough without my own mixing into metal. A sensation of hot, then cold, then hot screaming over me, screaming for me to wake up, screaming for her parents and her brother to wake up. None of them had, only me.**

Lissa looked down, thinking about that horrible day.

"How old were you, if you don't mind asking?" asked Adrian.

I glared at him. "_Fourteen_. We were fourteen, Adrian. Now shut up."

**And the doctors said that was a miracle in itself. They said I shouldn't have survived.**

**Apparently sensing my discomfort, Victor let the moment go and returned to his earlier excitement.**

**"I can still barely believe this. It's been so long since this has happened. If it did happen more often…just think what it could do for the safety of all Moroi. If only others could experience this too. I'll have to do more research and see if we can replicate it with others."**

**"Yeah."I was getting impatient, despite how much I liked him.**

I scoffed. "God."

**Natalie rambled a lot, and it was pretty clear which parent she'd inherited _that_quality from. Lunch was ticking down, and although Moroi and novices shared afternoon classes, Lissa and I wouldn't have much time to talk.**

**"Perhaps we could—" He started coughing, a great, seizing fit that made his whole body shake. His disease, Sandovsky's Syndrome, took the lungs down with it while dragging the body toward death. I cast an anxious look at his guardians, and one of them stepped forward. "Your Highness," he said politely, "you need to go inside. It's too cold out here."**

**Victor nodded. "Yes, yes. And I'm sure Rose here wants to eat."**

"Yes I wanted," I said to the book-Victor.

**He turned to me. "Thank you for speaking to me. I can't emphasize how much it means to me that Vasilisa is safe— and that you helped with that.**

"I. Was. So. Stupid," I said, baning my head again with every word I said.

**I'd promised her father I'd look after her if anything happened to him, and I felt like quite the failure when you left."**

"You were always a failure to my father," growled Lissa.

**A sinking sensation filled my stomach as I imagined him wracked with guilt and worry over our disappearance.**

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Sure."

**Until now, I hadn't really thought about how others might have felt about us leaving.**

"When do you?" asked Adrian.

**We made our goodbyes, and I finally arrived inside the school. As I did, I felt Lissa's anxiety spike. Ignoring the pain in my legs, I picked up my pace into the commons.**

**And nearly ran right into her.**

**She didn't see me, though. Neither did the people standing with her: Aaron and that little doll girl.**

Mia glared at me at the _doll girl _comment. "Oh, Rose. Do I have more nicknames in this book?"

"I don't know, Barbie. I guess."

**I stopped and listened, just catching the end of the conversation. The girl leaned toward Lissa, who seemed more stunned than anything else.**

**"It looks to _me _like it came from a garage sale. I thought a precious Dragomir would have standards." Scorn dripped off the word _Dragomir._**

"Sorry, Liss," said Mia, smiling apologetically at her.

"It's okay, Mia," she smiled back.

**Grabbing Doll Girl**

Mia glared at me again.

**by the shoulder, I jerked her away. She was so light, she stumbled three feet and nearly fell.**

**"She does have standards," I said, "which is why you're done talking to her."**

"That's the end of the chapter," stated Dimitri. "Who'll read next?"

"I will," said Eddie.

"**Chapter four**."

* * *

**HALLELUJAH!**

**It's done, thank God. **

**Yeah … I LOVE PIZZA!**

**Review? :D**


	6. Chapter 4

**OMG I'm soooooo sorry for the long wait! I had some problems with my computer, school and family and I couldn't update faster. Sorry again! Hope you can forgive me *sad puppy eyes*.**

**Again, thank you for your story alerts, favorite story and author and your amazing reviews! You guys are the best, I swear!**

**Speaking of reviews, to RozaXDimkaBelikovForever, yes I have all the 6 books downloaded on my computer and I just copy-paste the lines here :). And thank you very much ^-^.**

**Oh, and, by the way. I might add a little lemon in the story ;). The scene will not me marked or highlighted, so prepare mwahaha. **

* * *

**WE DIDN'T HAVE THE ENTIRE commons' attention this time, thank God, but a few passing people**  
**had stopped to stare.**

"At Rose's ass," said Adrian, smirking.

I flipped him off. "Fuck your face."

He snorted. "Psh, you're a girl. You don't have a dick."

"I'll borrow one."

**"What the hell do you think you're doing?" asked Doll Girl,**

"I don't -" Mia started, but cut herself off. "Why am I even wasting my breath?" she said, throwing her hands up in exasperation.

**blue eyes wide and sparkling with fury. Up ****close now, I was able to get a better look at her. She had the same slim build as most Moroi but not the ****usual height, which was partly what made her look so young.**

Mia rolled her eyes. God damn, this whole 'Mia looks young' thing really annoys the shit out of her.

**The tiny purple dress she wore was ****gorgeous—**

She smiled now. "Thank you."

"Oh, just wait," I said misteriously, smirking at her.

Her smile fell, replaced by a frown.

**reminding me that I was indeed dressed in thrift-shop wear—**

Christian laughed. "Thrift shop wear? Really, Rose? That's embarrassing, even for you."

Mia looked smug. "Ha!"

"Ha what?" I rolled my eyes at her. "And Christian. Not everyone is rich. And really, who are you to talk? I've never seen you wearing other pair of jeans but this one."

"At least they're not from a thrift shop wear," he mumbled under his breath.

Dimitri stoked my cheek. "I like your clothes."

I smiled at him. "Thank you." Then I turned back to Christian. "See? Someone who appreciates me and my clothes."

He rolled his eyes. "Whatever. He thinks everything about you is fascinating. But I bet he would like your clothes more on his floor," he said, smirking at winking at me and Dimitri.

**but closer inspection led me to ****think it was a designer knockoff.**

Mia glared at me again. "Do you really have to observe _everything_?"

"Yep," I nodded.

**I crossed my arms across my chest. "Are you lost, little girl? The elementary school's over on west**  
**campus."**

The boys laughed, while Dimitri tried to hide a chuckle.

"Good one, Rosie," said Adrian, high-fiving me.

"Thank you, Adriana."

He glared at me.

**A pink flush spread over her cheeks. "Don't you ever touch meagain. You screw with me, and I'll screw**  
**you right back."**

Mia windened her eyes. "I just realized how dirty that sounds."

"Woah, Mia," I teased her. "I know I'm hot, but slow down."

She waved her hand in front of me. "Yeah, yeah, whatever."

**Oh man, what an opening that was. Only a head shake from Lissa stopped me from unleashing any**  
**number of hilarious comebacks. Instead, I opted for simple brute force, so to speak.**

**"And if you mess with either of us again, I'll break you in half.**

Adrian bursted out laughing.

"The fuck?" I asked him, making my best 'dafuq' face.

"I just realized another meaning of _breaking in half," _he said, laughing. Soon, Christian joined him.

"Wha-" then I realized. "Oh."

Eddie and Mia joined

"I bet Dimitri would love to break you in half," said Christian wagging his eyebrows at me.

My mom, me and Dimitri were glaring at Christian, but I saw a glint of lust in Dimitri's eyes. Oh, wow.

**If you don't believe me, go ask Dawn Yarrow about what I did to her arm in ninth grade. You were probably at nap time when it happened."**

"Nap time? You're taking this whole 'Mia looks young' thing too far, you know?" said Eddie, half-glaring at me.

I rolled my eyes at him. "Whatever, loverboy."

**The incident with Dawn hadn't been one of my finer moments. I honestly hadn't expected to break any**  
**bones when I shoved her into a tree.**

"Why did you do it?" asked Dimitri.

I shot him a look. "Because she was pissing me off, duh."

He shook his head. "Roza..."

**Still, the incident had given me a dangerous reputation, in addition to my smartass one. The story had gained legendary status, and I liked to imagine that it was still being told around campfires late at night.**

"We don't have campfires. It's too dangerous," said Kirova.

"Whatever, old hag."

"Rosemarie!" shouted my mom and Kirova. "Don't talk like that with people who are older than you," my mom said.

**Judging from the look on this girl's face, it was.**

**One of the patrolling staff members strolled by right then, casting suspicious eyes at our little meeting.**  
**Doll Girl backed off, taking Aaron's arm. "Come on," she said.**

**"Hey, Aaron," I said cheerfully, remembering he was there."Nice to see you again."**  
**He gave me a quick nod and an uneasy smile, just as the girl dragged him old Aaron. He might**  
**be nice and cute,**

"Are you sure you don't like Aaron?" asked Christian suspiciously.

I sighed annoyed. "Yes! Oh God, Of course I don't like him. He;s not my type at all."

**but aggressive he was not.**

"See?" I asked Christian.

He rolled his eyes. "Of course he's not your type. You only like guardians who are seven years older than you."

I replied with my middle finger.

**I turned to Lissa. "You okay?" She nodded. "Any idea who I just threatened to beat up?"**

Lissa giggled. "Only you, Rose."

**"Not a clue." I started to lead her toward the lunch line, but she shook her head at me."Gotta go see the**  
**feeders."**

"Be careful, Lissa," said Christian, putting his palm on Lissa's shoulder. "A hungry Rose not eating when she is usuallAccount[+]y eating might cause World War III."

"Haha, you're so funny that I wanna take my flying unicorn and fly all over the place of happiness," I told him, glaring at him.

He looked at me like I was crazy. "That doesn't make any sense."

"It doesn't have to."

"Bitch," he muttered.

"Asshole."

"Whore."

"Small ass."

"Fat ass."

"Sperm donator."

"Ugh, just STOP!" yelled Lissa. "You two are worse than two kids."

We stopped arguing just for Lissa's sake, but continued to glare at each other.

**A funny feeling settled over me. I'd gotten so used to being her primary blood source that the thought of**  
**returning to the Moroi's normal routine seemed strange. In fact, it almost bothered me. It shouldn't have.**  
**Daily feedings were part of a Moroi's life, something I hadn't been able to offer her while living on our**  
**own. It had been an inconvenient situation, one that left me weak on feeding days and her weak on the**  
**days in between. I should have been happy she would get some normality.**

**I forced a smile. "Sure."**

**We walked into the feeding room, which sat adjacent to the cafeteria.**

"I see an explination," said Adrian, rolling his eyes.

"You'll also see a black eye on your face if you don't shut up," I growled at him.

**It was set up with small cubicles, dividing the room's space in an effort to offer privacy. A dark-haired Moroi woman greeted us at the entrance and glanced down at her clipboard, flipping through the pages. Finding what she needed, she made a few notes and then gestured for Lissa to follow. Me she gave a puzzled look, but she didn't stop me from entering.**

**She led us to one of the cubicles where a plump, middle-aged woman sat leafing through a magazine. She looked up at our approach and smiled. In her eyes, I could see the dreamy, glazed-over look most**  
**feeders had.**

"Or Rose when Lissa bites her," said Christian.

I smacked him. "Shut the fuck up!"

**She'd probably neared her quota for the day, judging from how high she appeared to be.**

**Recognizing Lissa, her smile grew. "Welcome back, Princess."**

**The greeter left us, and Lissa sat down in the chair beside the woman. I sensed a feeling of discomfort in**  
**her, a little different from my own. This was weird for her too; it had been a long time. The feeder,**  
**however, had no such reservations. An eager look crossed her face—the look of a junkie about to get**  
**her next fix.**

**Disgust poured into me. It was an old instinct, one that had been drilled in over the years. Feeders were**  
**essential to Moroi life. They were humans who willingly volunteered to be a regular blood source, humans from the fringes of society who gave their lives over to the secret world of the Moroi. They were well cared for and given all the comforts they could need. But at the heart of it, they were drug users, addicts to Moroi saliva and the rush it offered with each bite. The Moroi—and guardians—looked down on this dependency, even though the Moroi couldn't have survived otherwise unless they took victims by force. Hypocrisy at its finest.**

"Thank your for poiting out what we aleardy knew," said Eddie, rolling his eyes.

"Hey! Can't help the way my mind works."

**The feeder tilted her head, giving Lissa full access to her neck. Her skin there was marked with scars**  
**from years of daily bites. The infrequent feedings Lissa and I had done had kept my neck clear; my bite**  
**marks never lasted more than a day or so.**

My mom nodded her head in approval.

"Good," she said.

**Lissa leaned forward, fangs biting into the feeder's yielding flesh. The woman closed her eyes, making a**  
**soft sound of pleasure.**

"It sounded more like an erotic moan, actually," said Lissa, giggling.

**I swallowed, watching Lissa drink. I couldn't see any blood, but I could imagine**  
**it. A surge of emotion grew in my chest: longing. Jealousy.**

"Rosemarie!" my mom yelled and stood up and bent down, her face almost inches away from mine, her eyes burning with anger. "What do you mean by _jealousy_? Do you wanna be a bloodwhore?"

I windened my eyes at her. "No! Of course not! It was just ... you don't always get that blissfull sensation, you know?"

She relaxed a little bit, and sat down. "Well, as long as you're not addicted," she shot me a knowing look, "it's okay."

"Huh. That was easier than I thought," I said. "Keep reading, Eddie."

**I averted my eyes, staring at the floor. Mentally, I scolded myself.**

**What's wrong with you? Why should you miss it? You only did it once every day. You aren't addicted,**  
**not like this. And you don't want to be.'**

I looked at my mom, and she relaxed completely hearing this.

**But I couldn't help myself, couldn't help the way I felt as I recalled the bliss and rush of a vampire's bite.**  
**Lissa finished and we returned to the commons, moving toward the lunch line. It was short, since we**  
**only had fifteen minutes left, and I strolled up and began to load my plate withfrench fries and some**  
**rounded, bite-size objects that looked vaguely like chicken nuggets.**

"You didn't even know what those .. things were, but you ate them anyway?" asked Adrian.

I shrugged. "They were pretty good, actually."

**Lissa only grabbed a yogurt. Moroi needed food, as dhampirs and humans did, but rarely had an appetite after drinking blood.**

**"So how'd classes go?" I asked.**

**She shrugged. Her face was bright with color and life now. " of stares.A _lot _of of questions about where we ."**

**"Same here," I said. The attendant checked us out,**

"Even adults are checking Rose out," said Adrian, smirking.

"Not in that way, idiot!" I told him, rolling my eyes.

**and we walked toward the tables. I gave Lissa a sidelong glance. "You okay with that? They aren't bothering you, are they?"**

**"No—it's fine." The emotions coming through the bond contradicted her words. Knowing I could feel**  
**that, she tried to change the subject by handing me her class schedule. I looked it over.**

**1st Period Russian 2**

That gave me a brilliant idea.

"Hey, Liss," I turned to her, smiling innocently. "You learnt Russian, right?"

"Yeah...," said Lissa, confused.

"Can you teach me how to swear in Russian?" I asked her, still smiling innocently. They boys -except Dimitri, he rather looked horrified- snickered.

"Umm, Rose. I don't know how to swear in Russian."

I frowned and Dimitri sighed in relief. I turned back to him.

"Hey, don't be so relieved. I'll make you teach me how to swear in Russian," I said, then I leaned forward and I whispered seductively in his ear, "so it'll be more interesting when we'll have our sexual ... getaways." When I finished the sentence I nibbed his ear.

Then, I pulled back to look at his expression, which it was full of lust. Like he was underssing me right now. That made me smirk.

"Rose, what the fuck did you do to him? His aura is going crazy," said Adrian with his head in his hands.

"Just told him the good reasons of why he should teach me Russian."

"Well," said Christian, "judging from his face ... OH GOD, ROSE! THE FUCK!"

"Wha-" Lissa cut herself off. "Oh, I understand now. Wow. Just wow.

I smirked at them. "Keep reading, Eddie."

When he opened his mouth, a moan escaped from Dimitri's. He looked at nothing, his face still full of lust. I snapped my fingers in front of his face.

"Dimitri? Dimitri! Comrade!"

He shook his head. "Huh?"

I started laughing. "Keep reading, Eddie."

**2nd Period American Colonial Literature**

**3rd Period Basics of Elemental Control**

**4th Period Ancient Poetry**

**—Lunch —**

**5th Period Animal Behavior and Physiology**

**6th Period Advanced Calculus**

**7th Period Moroi Culture 4**

**8th Period Slavic Art**

****All the students from St. Vlad's groaned.

**"Nerd," I said.**

"Don't you ever call my girlfriend a nerd," growled Christian.

I put my left hand on my hip and made an 'oh, really' face. "And then what?" I turned to Lissa. "Liss, you're a nerd."

Christian's eyes were burning with anger now, and he lunged at me, but I held his head with my palm.

"Haha, this is funny," I laughed. "Liss, your boyfriend is a dick."

"Rose!" shouted Lissa.

I rolled my eyes. "Fine. You can say somethig bad about Dimitri." Then I let go of Christian's head.

"I wanna hear this," said Christian.

"Um ... he looks like Hulk. Except the green part," said Lissa.

"That's -" I cut myself off, then turned back to look at Dimitri, "unbelievably true."

Lissa just shrugged.

**"If you were in Stupid Math like me, we'd have the same afternoon schedule." I stopped walking. "Why are you in elemental basics? That's a sophomore class."**

**She eyed me."Because seniors take specialized classes."**

**We fell silent at that. All Moroi wielded elemental magic. It was one of the things that differentiated living**  
**vampires from Strigoi, the dead vampires. Moroi viewed magic as a gift. It was part of their souls and**  
**connected them to the world.**

"Again. Thank you for poiting out what we aleardy knew," Adrian said, rolling his eyes.

**A long time ago, they had used their magic openly averting natural disasters and helping with things like**  
**food and water production. They didn't need to do that as much anymore, but the magic was still in their**  
**blood. It burned in them and made themwant to reach out to the earth and wield their power. Academies**  
**like this existed to help Moroi control the magic and learn how to do increasingly complex things with it.**

**Students also had to learn the rules that surrounded magic, rules that had been in place for centuries and**  
**were strictly enforced.**

**All Moroi had a small ability in each element. When they got to be around our age, students "specialized"**  
**when one element grew stronger than the others: earth, water, fire, or air.**

"Or Spirit," said me and Adrian and Lissa at the same time.

**Not specializing was like not going through puberty.**

**And Lissa…well, Lissa hadn't specialized yet.**

**"Is Ms. Carmack still teaching that? What she'd say?"**

**"She says she's not worried. She thinks it'll come."**

"It came a long time ago," I said.

"When?" asked Mia, curiously.

"The accident," said Lissa, lost in thought. "My fear of seeing Rose and my family dead awakened the spirit in me."

"Oh."

**"Did you—did you tell her about—"**

**Lissa shook her head. "No. Of course not."**

**We let the subject drop. It was one we thought about a lot but rarely spoke of.**

**We started moving again, scanning the tables as we decided where to sit. A few pairs of eyes looked up**  
**at us with blatant curiosity.**

**"Lissa!"came a nearby voice. Glancing over, we saw Natalie waving at us.**

"Oh, God, why," I said, face-palming.

**Lissa and I exchanged looks. Natalie was sort of Lissa's cousin in the way Victor was sort of her uncle, but we'd never hung out with her all that much.**

"We shouldn't have hanged out with her," I said, shaking my head.

**Lissa shrugged and headed in that direction."Why not?"**

"Because her dad wants to use you as his personal nurse. Nothing much, huh?" I said to book-Lissa.

"Roza. We got it. Calm down now," said Dimitri, rubbing my back.

**I followed reluctantly. Natalie was nice but also one of the most uninteresting people I knew.**

"Oh, yeah," agreed Lissa, nodding.

**Most royals at the school enjoyed a kind of celebrity status, but Natalie had never fit in with that crowd. She**  
**was too plain, too uninterested in the politics of the Academy, and too clueless to really navigate them**  
**anyway.**

**Natalie's friends eyed us with a quiet curiosity, but she didn't hold back. She threw her arms around us.**  
**Like Lissa, she had jade-green eyes, but her hair was jet black, like Victor's had been before his disease**  
**grayed it.**

**"You're back! I knew you would be! Everyone said you were gone forever, but I never believed that. I**  
**knew you couldn't stay away. Why'd you go? There are so many stories about why you left!" Lissa and I**  
**exchanged glances as Natalie prattled on. "Camille said one of you got pregnant and went off to have an**  
**abortion, but I knew that couldn't be true.**

"Oh, yeah," remembered Mia, laughing. "Someone-Camille- started a rumor about how Rose was pregnant with Jake Badica's baby."

My face turned a wierd shade of red. "Really? I'm so gonna punch this bitch," I said through gritted teeth.

"Rose. You're not gonna punch anyone," said Lissa, looking at me in the eyes.

I sighed. "Fine. But really? Jack? Why did she choose Jack? He looks like a bag of smashed assholes." **(****Credit to Jenna** **Marbles for that, lol)**

"Rose and Jack. Jack and Rose. Titanic!" shouted Adrian.

Mia laughed. "Yeah, it was her favorite movie. I'm surprised everyone believed her."

**Someone else said you went off to hang out with Rose's mom,**

My mom raised her eyebrows.

"I'm sure her reaction would have been something like 'Rose? Vasilisa? What are you doing here?' then she would have brought us back at the Academy by the ear," I said.

**but I figured Ms. Kirova and Daddy**

Adrian and Christian laughed. "Daddy? Really?"

I nodded. "Yeah."

**wouldn't have been so upset if you'd turned up there. Did you know** **we might get to be roommates? I was talking to…"**

**On and on she chatted, flashing her fangs as she spoke. I smiled politely, letting Lissa deal with the onslaught**

"Yeah, thank you very much," said Lissa, sarcastically.

**until Natalie asked a dangerous question.**

**"What'd you do for blood, Lissa?"**

"I'd like to hear this," said Kirova.

"Me too," added my mom.

**The table regarded us questioningly Lissa froze, but I immediately jumped in, the lie coming effortlessly**  
**to my lips.**

"Of course," said Dimitri, shaking his head.

**"Oh, it's easy. There are a lot of humans who want to do it."**

**"Really?" asked one of Natalie's friends, wide-eyed.**

**" find 'em at parties and stuff. They're all looking for a fix from something, and they don't really get that a vampire's doing it: most are already so wasted they don't remember anyway." My already vague details dried up, so I simply shrugged in as cool and confident a way as I could manage. It wasn't like any of them knew any better. "Like I said, it's easier than with our own feeders."**

**Natalie accepted this and than launched into some other topic. Lissa shot me a grateful look.**

**Ignoring the conversation again,**

"And I thought you were sharing my boredom," said Lissa, sighing.

**I took in the old faces, trying to figure out who was hanging out with whom and how power had shifted within the school. Mason, sitting with a group of novices, caught my eye, and I smiled. Near him, a group of Moroi royals sat, laughing over something. Aaron and the blond girl sat there too.**

**"Hey, Natalie," I said, turning around and cutting her off. She didn't seem to notice or mind. "Who's**  
**Aaron's new girlfriend?"**

**"Huh? Oh. Mia Rinaldi." Seeing my blank look, she asked, "Don't you remember her?"**

**"Should I? Was she here when we left?"**

"Of course I was!" screamed Mia.

**"She's always been here," said Natalie. "She's only a year younger than us."**

"Yeah!" said Mia, again.

**I shot a questioning look at Lissa, who only shrugged.**

**"Why is she so pissed off at us?" I asked. "Neither of us know her."**

Mia sighed and looked down.

**"I don't know," answered Natalie. "Maybe she's jealous about Aaron. She wasn't much of anybody**  
**when you guys left. She gotreally popularreally fast. She isn't royal or anything, but once she started**  
**dating Aaron, she—"**

"Gosh, this girl talks a lot," said Adrian.

"_Talked. _She talked a lot," I corrected._  
_

**"Okay, thanks," I interrupted. "It doesn't really—"**

**My eyes lifted up from Natalie's face to Jesse Zeklos's,**

Dimitri groaned.

**just as he passed by our table. Ah, Jesse. I'd forgotten about him.**

"You shouldn't have remembered him," mumbled Dimitri.

**I liked flirting with Mason and some of the other novices, but Jesse was in an**  
**entirely different category.**

"Jerk category," I said.

**You flirted with the other guys simply for the sake of flirting. You flirted with**  
**Jesse in the hopes of getting semi-naked with him.**

"Well, you succeded," said Dimitri, his grip on me thightening.

"What?" my mom shouted.

"Calm down, mom. It was nothing."

**He was a royal Moroi, and he was so hot, he should have worn a warning: flammable sign. He met my eyes and grinned.**

**"Hey Rose, welcome still breaking hearts?"**

**"Are you volunteering?"**

**His grin widened. "Let's hang out sometime and find out. If you ever get parole."**

**He kept walking, and I watched him admiringly. Natalie and her friends stared at me in awe. I might not**  
**be a god in the Dimitri sense, but with this group, Lissa and Iwere gods— or at least former gods—of**  
**another nature.**

**"Oh my gawd," exclaimed one girl. I didn't remember her name.**

"Jasmine. It was Jasmine," said Lissa, smiling.

"Oooh, Jasmine. Yeah."

**"That was _Jesse_."**

"So? And I'm _Adrian_."

"And I'm _Christian."_

"And I'm _Eddie."_

_"_And I am going to cut off your balls if you don't shut up!" I yelled at them and they paled.

**"Yes," I said, smiling. "It certainly was."**

**"I wish I looked like you," she added with a sigh.**

"You're gorgeous," said Dimitri, smiling at me.

"Well, you're not bad yourself either, comrade," I winked.

"I wish I looked like you too, Rose. The body, I mean," said Lissa and I smiled.

"You're perfect, Liss," I told her and she smiled back.

**Their eyes fell on me. Technically, I was half-Moroi, but my looks were human. I'd blended in well with**  
**humans during our time away, so much so that I'd barely thought about my appearance at all. Here,**  
**among the slim and small-chested Moroi girls, certain features—meaning my larger breasts and more**  
**defined hips—stood out.**

"I don't mind Lissa's small breast or not so defined hips. They're still hot as hell. _She's_ hot as hell," said Chrstian, checking her out. Lissa blushed and smacked his arm playfully.

"Eww, not here, please. I don't talk dirty to Dimitri here," I said, gagging.

"Sure you don't," muttered Adrian.

"I _whispered_ dirty things to him. It's a difference."

**I knew I was pretty, but to Moroi boys, my body was more than just pretty: it was sexy**

"No, it's not. At least, not for me. Too fat for my liking," said Christian, with a fake disgusted look on his face.

"Well, you're a wierd kind of Moroi boy," I said.

"Your body isn't sexy just for Moroi men," whispered Dimitri in my ear, sending shivers down my spine.

**in a risqué way. Dhampirs were an exotic conquest, a novelty all Moroi guys wanted to "try."**

"I would really like to "try" it, then," said Adrian, liking his lips.

"No, you won't," said my mom, glaring at him.

**It was ironic that dhampirs had such an allure here, because slender Moroi girls looked very much like**  
**the super-skinny runway models so popular in the human world. Most humans could never reach that**  
**"ideal" skinniness, just as Moroi girls could never look like me. Everyone wanted what she couldn't have.**

"Except you," said Lissa.

"Nah. I always wished I had green eyes or blue instead of my boring brown color."

**Lissa and I got to sit together in our shared afternoon classes but didn't do much talking. The stares**  
**she'd mentioned certainly did follow us, but I found that the more I talked to people, the more they**  
**warmed up. Slowly, gradually, they seemed to remember who we were, and the novelty—though not the**  
**intrigue—of our crazy stunt wore off.**

**Or maybe I should say, they remembered who I was. Because I was the only one talking. Lissa stared straight ahead, listening but neither acknowledging nor participating in my attempts at conversation. I could feel anxiety and sadness pouring out of her****.**

Christian put an arm around Lissa.

**"All right," I told her when classes finally ended. We stood outside the school, and I was fully aware that**  
**in doing so, I was already breaking the terms of my agreement with Kirova.**

"Neh, neh," Adrian sticked his tongue out at Christian and Eddie. Very mature, dude. "Pay."

They groaned and put 20 bucks each in Adrian's hand.

"Another bet?" I said, trying to sound exasperated but it came out amused.

"Yup."

**"We're not staying here," I told her, looking around the campus uneasily. I'm going to find a way to get us out."**

**"You think we could really do it a second time?" Lissa asked quietly.**

**"Absolutely."I spoke with certainty, again relieved she couldn't read my feelings. Escaping the first time**  
**had been tricky enough. Doing it again would be a real bitch, not that I couldn't still find a way.**

"How did you even managed it the first time?" asked Mia.**  
**

"I'm sure it'll be somewhere in the book."

**"You really would, wouldn't you?" She smiled, more to herself than to me, like she'd thought of**  
**something funny. "Of course you would. It's just, well. . ." She sighed. "I don't know if we should go.**  
**Maybe—maybe we should stay."**

**I blinked in astonishment. "What?" Not one of my more eloquent answers, but the best I could manage.**  
**I'd never expected this from her.**

"Go Lissa! The only one who can leave Rose speechless!" cheered Adrian.

She smiled smugly. "I'm awesome, I know."

"Oh, stop being modest," I told her.

**"I saw you, Rose. I saw you talking to the other novices during class, talking about practice. You miss**  
**that."**

**"It's not worth it," I argued. "Not if…not if _you_… " I couldn't finish, but she was right. She'd read me.**

****"As always," I said.

**I had missed the other some of the Moroi. But there was more to it than just that. The weight of my inexperience, how much I'd fallen behind, had been growing all day.**

**"It might be better," she countered. "I haven't had as many…you know, things happening in a while. I**  
**haven't felt like anyone was following or watching us."**

**I didn't say anything to that. Before we'd left the Academy, she'd always felt like someone was following**  
**her, like she was being hunted.**

Everyone sent Lissa sympathetic looks. She smiled thankful.

**I'd never seen evidence to support that, but I had once heard one of our teachers go on and on about the same sort of thing. Ms. Karp. She'd been a pretty Moroi, with deep auburn air and high cheekbones. And I was pretty sure she'd been crazy.**

**"You never know who's watching," she used to say, walking briskly around the classroom as she shut all**  
**the blinds. "Or who's following to be toalways be safe." We'd snickered amongst**  
**ourselves because that's what students do around eccentric and paranoid teachers. The thought of Lissa**  
**acting like her bothered me.**

"You'll never act like her," I promised her.

**"What's wrong?" Lissa asked, noticing that I was lost in thought.**

**"Huh? Just thinking." I sighed, trying to balance my own wants with what was best for her. "Liss,**  
**we can stay, I guess…but there are a few conditions."**

**This made her laugh."A Rose ultimatum, huh?"**

**"I'm serious."**

"Words she doesn't say very much," said Christian.

**Words I didn't say very much.**

Everyone laughed while Christian paled.

"See? I told you that you two are really alike," said Lissa.

My laugher dried off. "I'm not like him at all!"

"And I'm not like ... her at all!" said Christian.

"Whatever," said Lissa.

**"I want you to stay away from the royals. Not like Natalie or anything but you know, the power players. Camille. Carly. That group."**

**Her amusement turned to astonishment. "Are you serious?"**

"She just said she was, babe," said Christian.

I gagged.

**"Sure. You never liked them anyway."**

**"_You_ did."**

**"No. Not really. I liked what they could give. All the parties and stuff."**

"Now _that_ sounds like the Rose we all know and love," said Eddie.

**"And you can go without that now?" She looked skeptical.**

**"Sure. We did in Portland ."**

**"Yeah, but that was different." Her eyes stared off, not really focused on any one thing. "Here…here I've**  
**got to be a part of that. I can't avoid it."**

**"The hell you do. Natalie stays out of that stuff."**

"Yeah, because no one wanted her at their parties," I said.

**"Natalie isn't going to inherit her family's title," she retorted. "I've already got it. I've got to be involved,**  
**start making connections. Andre—"**

**"Liss," I groaned. "You aren't Andre."**

"You're much better than him," said Mia.

**I couldn't believe she was still comparing herself to her brother.**

**"He was always involved in all that stuff."**

**"Yeah, well," I snapped back, "he's dead now."**

"Rose!" screamed Christian.

"Yeah?"

He just sighed exasperated.

**Her face hardened. "You know, sometimes you aren't very nice."**

**"You don't keep me around to be nice. You want nice, there are a dozen sheep in therewho would rip**  
**each other's throats to get in good with the Dragomir princess. You keep me around to tell you the truth,**  
**and here it is: Andre's dead. You're the heir now, and you're going to deal with it however you can. But**  
**for now, that means staying away from the other royals. We'll just lie through the middle. Get**  
**involved in that stuff again, Liss, and you'll drive yourself…"**

"Woah, that was deep," said Adrian.

**"Crazy?"she supplied when I didn't finish.**

**Now I looked away. "I didn't mean…"**

**"It's okay" she said, after a moment. She sighed and touched my arm."Fine. We'll stay and we'll keep out**  
**of all that stuff. We'll 'coast through the middle' like you want. Hang out with Natalie, I guess."**

**To be perfectly honest, I didn't want any of that.**

"I knew you wouldn't like it," said Lissa.

**I wanted to go to all the royal parties and wild drunken festivities like we'd done before.**

****"Damn, if I knew your were such a party girl back then, we would have been best friends," said Adrian.

"Not likely."

**We'd kept out of that life for years until Lissa's parents and brother died.**

**Andre should have been the one to inherit her family's title, and he'd certainly acted like it. Handsome and**  
**outgoing, he'd charmed everyone he knew**

Mia sighed. "Couldn't have said it better."

**and had been a leader in all the royal cliques and clubs that existed on campus. After his death, Lissa had felt it was her family duty to take his place.**

**I'd gotten to join that world with her. It was easy for me, because I didn't really have to deal with the**  
**politics of it. I was a pretty dhampir, one who didn't mind getting into trouble and pulling crazy stunts.**

"You tell me?" said my mom.

**I became a novelty; they liked having me around for the fun of it.**

**Lissa had to deal with other matters. The Dragomirs were one of the twelve ruling families. She'd have a**  
**very powerful place in Moroi society, and the other young royals wanted to get in good with her. Fake friends tried toschmooze her and get her to team up against other people. The royals could bribe and backstab in the same breath—and that was just with each other. To dhampirs and non-royals, they were completely unpredictable.**

**That cruel culture had eventually taken its toll on Lissa. She had an open, kind nature, one that I loved,**

"One that everybody loves, actually," corrected Christian.

**and I hated to see her upset and stressed by royal games. She'd grown fragile since the accident, and all**  
**the parties in the world weren't worth seeing her hurt.**

Lissa hugged me. "Thank you, Rose," she whispered in my hair.

I patted her back. "Always, Liss."

**"All right then," I said finally. "We'll see how this goes. If anything goes wrong—anything at all—we**  
**leave. No arguments."**

**She nodded.**

**"Rose?"**

"Uh oh," said Eddie.

**We both looked up at Dimitri's looming form. I hoped he hadn't heard the part about us leaving.**

"I did, actually. But I didn't mind. I knew you weren't going to leave again," he told me.

I kissed his cheek. "Thank you for having faith in me."

**"You're late for practice," he said evenly. Seeing Lissa, he gave a polite nod. "Princess."**

**As he and I walked away, I worried about Lissa and wondered if staying here was the right thing to do.**  
**I felt nothing alarming through the bond, but her emotions spiked all over the place. Confusion. Nostalgia.**  
**Fear. Anticipation. Strong and powerful, they flooded into me.**

**I felt the pull just before it happened. It was exactly like what had happened on the plane: her emotions**  
**grew so strong that they "sucked" me into her**

"You have no idea how dirty that shounds," said Adrian, smirking.

"You make it sound dirty because you're a drunken perv."

**head before I could stop them. I could now see and feel what she did.**

**She walked slowly around the commons, toward the small Russian Orthodox chapel that served most of**  
**the school's religious needs. Lissa had always attended mass regularly. Not me.**

**I had a standing arrangement with God: I'd agree to believe in him—barely—so long as he let me sleep**  
**in on Sundays.**

Lissa shook her head and sighed. "That's not how it works, Rose."

"Whatever."

**But as she went inside, I could feel that she wasn't there to pray. She had another purpose, one I didn't**  
**know about. Glancing around, she verified that neither the priest nor any worshippers were close by. The**  
**place was empty.**

"Or not," said Christian, smirking.

**Slipping through a doorway in the back of the chapel, she climbed a narrow set of creaky stairs up into**  
**the attic. Here it was dark and dusty. The only light came through a large stained-glass window that**  
**fractured the faint glow of sunrise into tiny, multicolored gems across the floor.**

**I hadn't known until that moment that this room was a regular retreat for Lissa. But now I could feel it,**  
**feel her memories of how she used to escape here to be alone and to think. The anxiety in her ebbed**  
**away ever so slightly as she took in the familiar surroundings. She climbed up into the window seat and**  
**leaned her head back against its side, momentarily entranced by the silence and the light.**

**Moroi could stand some sunlight, unlike the Strigoi, but they had to limit their exposure. Sitting here, she**  
**could almost pretend she was in the sun, protected by the glass's dilution of the rays.**

**_Breathe, just breathe_, she told herself_. It'll be okay. Rose will take care of everything._**

**She believed that passionately, like always, and relaxed further.**

**Then a low voice spoke from the darkness.**

"Who is it?" asked Mia

Christian smirked. "Patience, my child."

**"You can have the Academy but not the window seat."**

**She sprang up, heart pounding. I shared her anxiety, and my own pulse quickened. "Who's there?"**

**A moment later, a shape rose from behind a stack of crates, just outside her field of vision. The figure**  
**stepped forward, and in the poor lighting, familiar features black blue eyes.** **A perpetually sardonic smirk.**

"Oh. It's just Christian," said Mia drily.

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" asked Christian.

"Nothing. I just hoped it would have been someone more ... I don't know. Interesting."

I laughed. "And that makes you, Mia, my second best friend from now on."

**Christian Ozera.**

**"Don't worry," he said. "I won't bite. Well, at least not in the way you're afraid of." He chuckled at his**  
**own joke.**

**She didn't find it funny.**

"Sucks to not be funny, huh?" I teased him.

"Look who's talking," he glared at me.

"Hey! I'm funny!"

"Sure."

**She had completely forgotten about Christian. So had I.**

Christian fake-gasped. "Don't I feel loved, yes I do."

**No matter what happened in our world, a few basic truths about vampires remained the same. Moroi**  
**were alive; Strigoi were undead. Moroi were mortal; Strigoi were immortal. Moroi were born; Strigoi**  
**were _made._**

**And there were two ways to make a Strigoi. Strigoi could forcibly turn humans, dhampirs, or Moroi with**  
**a single bite. Moroi tempted by the promise of immortality could become Strigoi by choice if they**  
**purposely killed another person while feeding. Doing that was considered dark and twisted, the greatest**  
**of all sins, both against the Moroi way of life and nature itself. Moroi who chose this dark path lost their**  
**ability to connect with elemental magic and other powers of the world. That was why they could no**  
**longer go into the sun.**

"Again. Thanks for pointing out what we aleardy knew," said Adrian.

**This is what had happened to Christian's parents. They were Strigoi.**

****Christian glared at me. "Had to point this out, huh?"

"Sorry. Okay, who wants to read next?" I asked.

"I will," said Mia. "Chapter five."

* * *

**Done! **

**I know you love me when I update ;).**

**Again, sorry for the long wait.**

**Guys, in July I'll go with my best friend in Belgium! For 8 days. Just the two of us. Alone. YAYAYAYAYA! I can't wait!**

**REVIEW, please!**


	7. Chapter 5

**I'm baaaack. Missed me? Sure ya did *wink*.**

**I fucking hate my computer. I really have NO idea what the hell happened to it, but right now I'm working in "safe mode" and the resolution is HUGE. ARGHHH! My worst fears came true.**

**But on the other hand, I have just 4 weeks of school left. So that means faster updates! Ah, I can't believe how fast time flew. I remember my first day of high school like it was yesterday :'(. Hell, I remember my _first day of school_ like it was yesterday.**

**And again, thank you for your great reviews! I'm glad that my story made you laugh, that's what I'm always aiming for :). And if I have some grammatical mistakes, please excuse me *blushes*. I've been learning English for just 4 years, so yeah.**

**I'll just shut up now.**

* * *

**OR RATHER, THEY **_**HAD**_**BEEN Strigoi. A regiment of guardians had hunted them down and killed them. If rumors were true, Christian had witnessed it all when he was very young.**

"The rumors were _very _true," said Christian, looking at nothing.

I gave him a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry."

He looked at me confused. "What?"

"I'm sorry," I repeated. "About what happened. You didn't deserve that. _Nobody _deserves that."

He smiled at me. "Thank you, Rosie."

"Stop calling me like that!"

**And although he wasn't Strigoi himself, some people thought he wasn't far off, with the way he always wore black and kept to himself.**

"What's wrong with wearing black?" asked Christian exasperated. "It's just a color that I like. Simple as that."

I shrugged.

**Strigoi or not, I didn't trust him.**

Christian gasped in mock shock.

"I always felt the urge to tell you anything, and that's how you pay me?"

I rolled my eyes at him.

**He was a jerk,**

Christian made some cry sounds.

"You just hurt my feelings!"

"And here we go! A second Adrian. I knew this was going to happen." I said, shaking my head.

As soon as Christian heard what I said, he stopped "crying" .

"I'm not like him at all!"

"Hey!" Adrian screamed.

**and I silently screamed at Lissa to get out of there—not that my screaming did much good. Stupid one-way bond.**

Lissa sighed. "Sometimes I really want to know what's going on in your head."

I pointed to the book. "You're doing it now."

Lissa opened her mouth, but then closed it. "You're right."

"I'm always right."

Adrian snorted. "Yeah, right."

**"What are you doing here?" she asked.**

**"Taking in the sights, of chair with the tarp on it is particularly lovely this time of year. Over there, we have an old box full of the writings of the blessed and crazy St. Vladimir. And let's not forget that beautiful table with no legs in the corner."**

"Is sarcasm your second language?" asked Mia.

He nodded. "Yea."

**"Whatever." She rolled her eyes and moved toward the door, wanting to leave, but he blocked her way.**

**"Well, what about _you?"_he taunted. "Why are you up here? Don't you have parties to go to or lives to destroy?"**

"Gosh, Christian," said Mia. "No need to be rude."

He turned to Lissa. "Sorry, pumpkin."

She smiled at him. "It's okay, cookie."

I looked at them horrified. "W-what the hell was that?"

They looked embarrassed now.

"Nicknames," said Lissa, blushing.

"Pumpkin and cookie? Ew."

"You're just jealous," said Christian.

I laughed. "Yeah, sure. Because I really want Dimitri to call me teddy boo boo or sweety pie or any shit like that."

**Some of Lissa's old spark returned. "Wow, that's hilarious. Am I like a rite of passage now? Go and see if you can piss off Lissa to prove how cool you are? Some girl I don't even know yelled at me today,**

"Sorry," said Mia, smiling apologically at her.

Lissa smiled too. "It's okay. We're friends now, aren't we?"

**and now I've got to deal with you? What does it take to be left alone?"**

**"Oh. So that's why you're up here. For a pity party."**

**"This isn't a joke. I'm serious." I could tell Lissa was getting angry.**

"Just a tip for the future," I said to Christian. "You really don't wanna mess up with an angry Lissa. She may be more dangerous than me."

"Oh, come on. Don't exaggerate."

"I'm serious."

"Well," joined Adrian. "If Lissa's that bad when she's angry, I really don't wanna mess up with her when she's on period."

**It was trumping her earlier distress.**

**He shrugged and leaned casually against the sloping wall. "So am I. I love pity parties. I wish I'd brought the hats. What do you want to mope about first? How it's going to take you a whole day to be popular and loved again? How you'll have to wait a couple weeks before Hollister can ship out some new clothes?**

"Ooh," I started. "Seems like our Christian likes shopping."

He glared at me. "At least I go shopping."

**If you spring for rush shipping, it might not be so long."**

**"Let me leave," she said angrily, this time pushing him aside.**

**"Wait," he said, as she reached the door. The sarcasm disappeared from his voice. **

"Weird thing," said Adrian.

I nodded in agreement.

**"What…um, what was it like?"**

**"What was _what_like?" she snapped.**

**"Being out there. Away from the Academy."**

"Hmm, I'm curious too," said Mia, leaning forward.

**She hesitated for a moment before answering, caught off guard by what seemed like a genuine attempt at conversation. "It was great. No one knew who I was. I was just another face. Not Moroi. Not anything."**

Mia sighed. "Man, I'd give everything to be royal and you hate it?"

Lissa nodded. "Sometimes it really sucks. Especially if you're the last in your line. Everyone expects for you to be perfect."

"Oh. I never though of it that way."

**"Everyone here thinks they know who I am."**

**"'s kind of hard to outlive your past," he said bitterly. It occurred to Lissa at that moment—and me to by default—just how hard it might be to be Christian.**

**Most of the time, people treated him like he didn't exist. Like he was a ghost. They didn't talk to or about him. They just didn't notice him. The stigma of his parents' crime was too strong, casting its shadow onto the entire Ozera family.**

Chrisian looked at nothing with a sad expression. Lissa realized that and put his his head on her shoulder, moving her hand through his black hair, murmuring something to him that I didn't hear. Christian smiled sadly, and kissed her cheek.

**Still, he'd pissed her off, and she wasn't about to feel sorry for him.**

Christian moved his head off Lissa's shoulder.

"Yeah, thank you," he said, trying to sound mean, but his smirk betrayed him.

"Oh, shut up. You really pissed me off then."

He shrugged and put his hand over Lissa's shoulders.

**"Wait—is this your pity party now?"**

**He laughed, almost approvingly. "This room has been my pity party for a year now."**

**"Sorry," said Lissa snarkily. "I was coming here before I left. I've got a longer claim."**

**"Squatters' rights. Besides, I have to make sure I stay near the chapel as much as possible so people know I haven't gone Strigoi…yet." Again, the bitter tone rang out.**

Mia gave him a sympathetic look.

**"Sure," he said. "Why else go? For the good of your _soul?"_**

"Of course!" exclaimed Lissa.

"Christian is not a christian," I said, smirking.

**"Whatever," said Lissa, who clearly had a differentopinion. "I'll leave you alone then."**

**"Wait," he said again. He didn't seem to want her to go. "I'll make you a deal. You can hang out here too if you tell me one thing."**

**"What?" She glanced back at him.**

**He leaned forward. "Of all the rumors I heard about you today—and believe me, I heard plenty, even if no one actually told them to me—there was one that didn't come up very much. They dissected everything else: why you left, what you did out there, why you came back, the specialization, what Rose said to Mia, blah, blah, blah. And in all of that, no one, no one ever questioned that stupid story that Rose told about there being all sorts of fringe humans who let you take blood."**

"Uh oh," said Adrian.

**She looked away, and I could feel her cheeks starting to burn. "It's not stupid. Or a story."**

"You're the worst liar ever, Liss," I told her.

**He laughed softly. "I've lived with humans**

"Then why did you ask her how it was when she's lived among humas?" asked Mia.

Christian shrugged. "I wanted to hear her version."

**My aunt and I stayed away after my parents…died. It's not that easy to find blood." When she didn't answer, he laughed again. "It was Rose, wasn't it? She fed you."**

"You're pretty smart, dude," said Adrian. "I wouldn't have found out."

"Of course you wouldn't," I said.

**A renewed fear shot through both her and me. No one at school could know about that. Kirova and the guardians on the scene knew, but they'd kept that knowledge to themselves.**

**"Well. If that's not friendship, I don't know what it is," he said.**

**"You can't tell anyone," she blurted out.**

**This was all we needed. As I'd just been reminded, feeders were vampire-bite addicts. We accepted that as part of life but still looked down on them for it. For anyone else—_especially _a dhampir—letting a Moroi take blood from you was almost, well, dirty. In fact, one of the kinkiest, practically pornographic things a dhampir could do was let a Moroi drink blood during sex.**

"Do you want to tell us something, little dhampir?" asked Adrian, wagging his eyebrows.

I scrunched my face. "Eww. You're so disgusting."

**Lissa and I hadn't had sex,**

Adrian smirked. "Oh, God. The mental image," then he licked his lips.

Me and Lissa looked at him with wide eyes.

"Watch pornos!" me and Lissa screamed at the same time.

**"Don't tell anyone," Lissa repeated.**

**He stuffed his hands in his coat pockets and sat down on one of the crates. "Who am I going to tell? Look, go grab the window seat. You can have it today and hang out for a you're not still afraid of me."**

**She hesitated, studying him.**

"What a nice way of saying that she was checking him out," said Adrian.

Lissa blushed. "I wasn't checking him out."

**He looked dark and surly, lips curled in a sort of I'm-such-a-rebel smirk. But he didn't look too dangerous. He didn't look Strigoi. Gingerly, she sat back down in the window seat, unconsciously rubbing her arms against the cold.**

**Christian watched her, and a moment later, the air warmed up considerably.**

**Lissa met Christian's eyes and smiled, surprised she'd never noticed how icy blue they were before.**

Lissa blushed again.

**"You specialized in fire?"**

**He nodded and pulled up a broken chair. "Now we have luxury accommodations."**

**I snapped out of the vision.**

Lissa sighed in relief.

**"Rose? Rose?"**

"That's my name."

**Blinking, I focused on Dimitri's face.**

"Of course she did," muttered Adrian.

**He was leaning toward me, his hands gripping my shoulders. I'd stopped walking; we stood in the middle of the quad separating the upper school buildings.**

"It was kinda creepy when I saw you standing there like a statue with a blank look on your face," confessed Dimitri.

**"Are you all right?"**

"Now that you are here," said Adrian, mimicking my voice, with his hand on his heart.

I rubbed my forehead. "Shut up!"

**"I…yeah.I was…I was with Lissa…" I put a hand to my forehead. I'd never had such a long or clear experience like that. "I was in her head."**

**"Her…head?"**

**"Yeah. It's part of the bond." I didn't really feel like elaborating.**

**"Is she all right?"**

**"Yeah, she's…" I hesitated. **_**Was**_**she all right? Christian Ozera had just invited her to hang out with him. Not good.**

"God, Rose!" said Christian, exasperated. "I'm not the Devil, you know?"

"Whatever."

**There was "coasting through the middle," and then there was turning to the dark side. But the feelings humming through our bond were no longer scared or upset. She was almost content, though still a little nervous. "She's not in danger," I finally said. I hoped.**

I saw Lissa rolling her eyes with the corner of my eyes.

**"Can you keep going?"**

**The hard, stoic warrior I'd met earlier was gone—just for a moment—and he actually looked concerned. Truly concerned.**

"Of course I was concerned!" said Dimitri. "Like I said, it was really creepy when you stood there with a blank look on your face."

**his eyes on me like that made something flutter inside of me—**

Christian sighed. "Ah. True love."

**which was stupid, of course. I had no reason to get all goofy, just because the man was too good-looking for his own good.**

My friends snickered while Dimitri blushed. Wait- he blushed?

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" I said, looking at Dimitri. "Badass, stoic, Dimitri Belikov blushed."

He smiled at me and pecked my lips.

**After all, he was an antisocial god, according to Mason. One who was supposedly going to leave me in all sorts of pain.**

**"Yeah.I'm fine."**

**I went into the gym's dressing room and changed into the workout clothes someone had finally thought to give me after a day of practicing in jeans and a T-shirt.**

"Ewww! Gross!" said Mia and Lissa at the same time.

**Gross.**

We exchanged amused looks.

**Lissa hanging out with Christian troubled me, but I shoved that thought away for later as my muscles informed me**

"Nah, nah," said Christian, extending his hand. "Pay."

Adrian and Eddie groaned and put 20 bucks each in Christian's hand.

"Ok, I'm really lost," I said, confused.

"I said that you'll continue to talk to inactive objects, and they said you won't."

I shook my head. "This is the stupidest bet I've ever heard of."

**they did not want to go through any more exercise I suggested to Dimitri that maybe he should let me off this time.**

**He laughed, and I was pretty sure it was **_**at**_**me and not **_**with**_**me.**

"He laughed at you more than sure," said Eddie.

**"Why is that funny?"**

**"Oh," he said, his smile dropping. "You were serious."**

Adrian laughed.

"I wish I was there to see it."

**"Of course I was! Look, I've technically been awake for _two_days. Why do we have to start this training now? Let me go to bed," I whined. "It's just one hour."**

**He crossed his arms and looked down at me. His earlier concern was gone. He was all business now. Tough love. "How do you feel right now? After the training you've done so far?"**

**"I hurt like hell."**

"You shouldn't curse in front of you instructors," said my mom, shaking her head.

"I think you should listen to her when she's all alone with Dimitri. Curse machine," said Christian, smirking.

I smacked him on the back of his head.

"Ow," he said, rubbing the spot where I just hit him.

"Learn to shut up!"

**"You'll feel worse tomorrow."**

**"So?"**

**"So, better to jump in now while you still feel…not as bad."**

**"What kind of logic is that?" I retorted.**

"Belikov logic," said Adrian.

**But I didn't argue anymore as he led me into the weight room. He showed me the weights and reps he wanted me to do, then sprawled in a corner with a battered Western novel. Some god**.

Dimitri chuckled, then he rested his chin on my forehead.

I yawned. "Guys, what time is it?"

Mia checked her watch. "Almost 8 PM. Why?"

"I'm kinda sleepy. Can we go to bed after this chapter?"

They all nodded.

When I finished, he stood beside me and demonstrated a few cool-down stretches.

**"How'd you end up as Lissa's guardian?" I asked. "You weren't here a few years ago. Were you even trained at this school?"**

**He didn't answer right away. I got the feeling he didn't talk about himself very often. **

**"No. I attended the one in Siberia ."**

**"Whoa. That's got to be the only place worse than Montana ."**

Dimitri shook his head. "Siberia is not as bad as you think."

"Oh, yeah?" I retorted. "Prove it."

"How?"

"Let's go in Siberia when we get out of here."

"If Rose goes, I'll go too!" said Lissa.

"And if Lissa goes, I'll go too," said Christian.

"Me too!" said Mia and Eddie.

"Mneah, I think I'll go with you too, guys," said Adrian.

Dimitri sighed. "Fine."

**A glint of something—maybe amusement—**

"Was It amusement?" I asked Dimitri.

He nodded.

sparked in his eyes, but he didn't acknowledge the joke.

**"After I graduated, I was a guardian for a Zeklos lord. He was killed recently." His smile dropped, his face grew dark. "They sent me here because they needed extras on campus. When the princess turned up, they assigned me to her, since I'd already be around. Not that it matters until she leaves campus."**

**I thought about what he'd said before. Some Strigoi killed the guy he was supposed to have been guarding? "Did this lord die on your watch?"**

"Rose!" screamed my mom.

"What? I just wanted to make conversation."

"Yeah, but that was a sensitive topic!"

"It's okay, Guardian Hathaway," said Dimitri, calming her down.

"Call me Janine," my mom said, smiling. What the … my mom smiling? At Dimitri? Wow…

Dimitri nodded. "Okay .. Janine?"

**"No. He was with his other guardian. I was away."**

**He fell silent, his mind obviously somewhere else. The Moroi expected a lot from us, but they did recognize that the guardians were—more or less—only human.**

"Guardians are not treated like they should be," said Lissa. "We would all be dead without them, after all."

"It's our duty, Liss," I reassured her.

"I know, but still…"

**So, guardians got pay and time off like you'd get in any other job. Some hard-core guardians—like my mom—refused vacations, vowing never to leave their Moroi's sides. Looking at Dimitri now, I had a feeling he might very well turn into one of those.**

"Absolutely," said Dimitri.

**If he'd been away on legitimate leave, he could hardly blame himself for what happened to that guy. Still, he probably did anyway. I'd blame myself too if something happened to Lissa.**

Lissa shook her head. "You shouldn't."

"Of course I should! Just put yourself in my shoes. How would you feel if you were my guardian and I was the moroi, and something would have happened to me? Guilty, no?"

Lissa opened her mouth to argue, but then closed it.

**"Hey," I said, suddenly wanting to cheer him up,**

Dimitri smiled at that.

"Aww, look. She actually cares about the others!" said Christian mockly.

Me and Lissa hit him at the same time.

"Shut up!" I exclaimed at the same time when Lissa screamed. "Stop insulting Rose!"

He rubbed the spots where me and Lissa had hit him.

"Ouch!"

**"did you help come up with the plan to get us back? Because it was pretty good. Brute force and all that."**

**He arched an eyebrow curiously. Cool. I'd always wished I could do that.**

Everybody –and I mean _everybody_- arched an eyebrow at me.

"Oh, come on! How the heck do you do that?" I asked, trying to arch an eyebrow. "Did I arch one?" I asked, turning to my friends.

When they saw me, they all began to laugh.

"You look like a horse had stepped on your face," said Eddie, laughing.

Christian stopped laughing and put an arm on Eddie's shoulder, then sighed. "Ah, buddy. Rose _always _looks like that."

I glared at him. I'm too tired to smack him. Again.

**You're complimenting me on that?"**

**"Well, it was a hell of a lot better than the last one they tried."**

"We didn't find you before," said Kirova.

I rolled my eyes. "I know that now, thank you very much."

**"Last one?"**

**" Chicago. With the pack of psi-hounds."**

"Fucking Victor," I muttered.

**"This was the first time we found Portland ."**

**I sat up from my stretches and crossed my legs. "Um, I don't think I imagined psi-hounds. Who else could have sent them? They only answer to Moroi.**

"Like Victor, of course," I muttered, shaking my head.

**Maybe no one told you about it."**

**"Maybe," he said dismissively. I could tell by his face he didn't believe that.**

**I returned to the novices' dorm after that.**

"Let the torture begins," I mumbled, then I sighed. "Thank God house arrest is over."

**The Moroi students lived on the other side of the quad, closer to the commons. The living ****arrangements were partly based on convenience. Being here kept us novices closer to the gym and training grounds. But we also lived separately to accommodate the differences in Moroi and dhampir lifestyles. Their dorm had almost no windows, aside from tinted ones that dimmed sunlight.** **They also had a special section where feeders always stayed on hand. The novices' dorm was built in a more open way, allowing for more light.**

"Gotta love being a dhampir," I grinned.

"Yeah!" Eddie agreed.

**I had my own room because there were so few novices, let alone girls. The room they'd given me was small and plain, with a twin bed and a desk with a computer. My few belongings had been spirited out of Portland and now sat in boxes around the room. I rummaged through them, pulling out a T-shirt to sleep in.**

"Sleeping in just a T-shirt again, little dhampir?" asked Adrian, wagging his eyebrows.

I rolled my eyes. "Perv royal."

"Hey!"

**I found a couple of pictures as I did, one of Lissa and me at a football game in Portland and another taken when I'd gone on vacation with her family, a year before the accident.**

Lissa and I sighed.

"I really miss the vacations with your family," I told Lissa.

"Me too. Remember when we were in LA and we were in that mall, and you threatened Andre that if he doesn't hold your bags you'll break his bones?"

I laughed, remembering it. "Oh, yeah! And he took revenge of me by throwing me in the pool. My hair was a mess when I dried it! It wasn't that long, though."

"Oh, yeah. It fell just above your bra strap, right?" I nodded.

"Ok, can we please get back to the story?" asked Mia.

"Sure," me and Lissa said.

**I set them on my desk and booted up the computer. Someone from tech support had helpfully given me a sheet with instructions for renewing my e-mail account and setting up a password. I did both, happy to discover no one had realized that this would serve as a way for me to communicate with Lissa.**

"Oh God," muttered Kirova, shaking her head. "I can't believe that we missed that out."

I grinned at her.

**Too tired to write to her now, I was about to turn everything off when I noticed I already had a message.**

**From Janine Hathaway. It was short:**

**I'm glad you're back. What you did was inexcusable.**

My mom looked down.

**"Love you too, Mom," I muttered, shutting it all down.**

**When I went to bed afterward, I passed out before even hitting the pillow, and just as Dimitri had predicted, I felt ten times worse when I woke up the next morning.**

"Told you," said Dimitri, grinning.

"Oh, shut up," I said, pocking his chest.

**Lying there in bed, I reconsidered the perks of running away. Then I remembered getting my ass kicked and figured the only way to prevent that from happening again was to go endure some more of it this morning.**

**My soreness made it all that much worse, but I survived the before-school practice with Dimitri and my subsequent classes without passing out or fainting.**

"God, you should have told me you didn't feel very good," said Dimitri.

**At lunch, I dragged Lissa away from Natalie's table early and gave her a Kirova-worthy lecture about Christian—**

He rolled his eyes while Lissa sighed.

**particularly chastising her for letting him know about our blood arrangement. If that got out, it'd kill both of us socially and I didn't trust him not to tell.**

**Lissa had other concerns.**

**"You were in my head again?" she exclaimed."For _that_long?"**

**"I didn't do it on purpose," I argued. "It just happened. And that's not the point. How long did you hang out with him afterward?"**

Christian smirked. "Ah, if you'd knew.."

**"Not that long. It was kind of…fun."**

Chrisrian smiled smugly.

**"Well, you can't do it again. If people find out you're hanging out with him, they'll crucify you."**

Christian glared at me. "Crucify her? Really, Rose? I'm not Devil incarnate, you know?"

"We never know."

**I eyed her warily. "You aren't, like, into him, are you?"**

Chrisian smirked, rubbing his hands.

**She scoffed. "No. Of course not."**

Christian's smirk dropped.

Lissa ruffled his hair. "Don't worry. I love you know."

I gagged.

**"Good. Because if you're going to go after a guy, steal Aaron back." He was boring, yes, but safe. Just like Natalie. How come all the harmless people were so lame? Maybe that was the definition of safe.**

My friends nodded in agreement.

"True story," said Adrian.

**She laughed. "Mia would claw my eyes out."**

**"We can take her. Besides, he deserves someone who doesn't shop at Gap Kids."**

Mia glared at me. I glared at her back, until she averted my gaze. I smirked.

**"Rose, you've got to stop saying things like that."**

Mia looked at Lissa surprized. "Woah. Thank … you. I think?"

Lissa smiled at her. "No problem/"

"I'm just saying what you won't."

**"She's only a year younger," said Lissa. She laughed. "I can't believe you think I'm the one who's going to get us in trouble."**

**Smiling as we strolled toward class, I gave her a sidelong glance. "Aaron does look pretty good though, huh?"**

Christian pointed to the book with his both hands, looking at me with a look that said "you see?"

**She smiled back and avoided my eyes."Yeah. Pretty good."**

**"Ooh. You see? You should go after him."**

**"Whatever. I'm fine being friends now."**

**"Friends who used to stick their tongues down each other's throats."**

Christian coughed.

**She rolled her eyes.**

**"Fine." I let my teasing go. "Let Aaron stay in the nursery school.**

"God," muttered Mia, shaking her head.

**Just so long as you stay away from Christian. He's dangerous."**

**"You're overreacting. He's not going Strigoi."**

**"He's a bad influence."**

**She laughed. "You think _I'm_in danger of going Strigoi?"**

**She didn't wait for my answer, instead pushing ahead to open the door to our science class. Standing there, I uneasily replayed her words and then followed a moment later. When I did, I got to see royal power in action. A few guys—with giggling, watching girls—were messing with a gangly-looking Moroi. I didn't know him very well, but I knew he was poor and certainly not royal. A couple of his tormentors were air-magic users, and they'd blown the papers off his desk and were pushing them around the room on currents of air while the guy tried to catch them.**

"Bastards," I muttered.

**My instincts urged me to do something, maybe go smack one of the air users.**

"Wohoo! God Rose!" cheered Adrian, clapping

I smirked. "Oh, no claps, no claps. Just money."

**But I couldn't pick a fight with everyone who annoyed me, and certainly not a group of royals—especially when Lissa needed to stay off their radar. So I could only give them a look of disgust as I walked to my desk. As I did, a hand caught my arm. Jesse.**

Dimitri and I groaned.

**"Hey," I said jokingly. Fortunately, he didn't appear to be participating in the torture session."Hands off the merchandise."**

"Yes," growled Dimitri, glaring at the book. "Hands off."

I rubbed his shoulder. "Comrade, calm down."

**He flashed me a smile but kept his hand on me. "Rose, tell Paul about the time you started the fight in Ms. Karp's class."**

**I cocked my head toward him, giving him a playful smile. "I started a lot of fights in her class."**

**"The one with the hermit crab. And the gerbil."**

Eddie laughed, remembering it.

"Hey. It's not funny. Poor animals," said Lissa.

**I laughed, recalling it."Oh yeah. It was a hamster, I think. I just dropped it into the crab's tank, and they were both worked up from being so close to me, so they went at it."**

**Paul, a guy sitting nearby whom I didn't really know, chuckled too. He'd transferred last year, apparently, and hadn't heard of this. "Who won?"**

"The hamster," said Eddie.

**I looked at Jesse quizzically. "I don't remember. Do you?"**

**"No. I just remember Karp freaking out." He turned toward Paul. "Man, you should have seen this messed-up teacher we used to have. Used to think people were after her and would go off on stuff that didn't make any sense. She was nuts. **

Lissa sighed. "That's what spirit does to you."

**Used to wander campus while everyone was asleep."**

**I smiled tightly, like I thought it was funny. Instead, I thought back to Ms. Karp again, surprised to be thinking about her for the second time in two days. Jesse was right—she **_**had**_**wandered campus a lot when she still worked here. It was pretty creepy. I'd run into her once- unexpectedly.**

Mia leaned forward.

**I'd been climbing out of my dorm window to go hang out with some people. It was after hours, and we were all supposed to be in our rooms, fast asleep.**

My mom shook her head in a disapproving way.

**Such escape tactics were a regular practice for me. I was good at them.**

"Of course you were," muttered my mom.

**But I fell that time.**

Adrian laughed. "Yeah, I see how good you were."

I glared at him. "Hey. It only happened once."

**I had a second-floor room, and I lost my grip about halfway down. Sensing the ground rush up toward me, I tried desperately to grab hold of something and slow my fall. The building's rough stone tore into my skin, causing cuts I was too preoccupied to feel. I slammed into the grassy earth, back first, getting the wind knocked out of me.**

"Ouch," said Mia.

**"Bad form, should be more careful. Your instructors would be disappointed."**

**Peering through the tangle of my hair, I saw Ms. Karp looking down at me, a bemused look on her face.**

**Pain, in the meantime, shot through every part of my body.**

**Ignoring it as best I could, I clambered to my feet. Being in class with Crazy Karp**

"Do you really have a nickname for _everybody_?" asked Mia.

"Yes, Barbie. I really do."

She glared at me.

**while surrounded by other students was one thing. Standing outside alone with her was an entirely different matter. She always had an eerie, distracted gleam in her eye that made my skin break out in goose was also now a high likelihood she'd drag me off to Kirova for a detention. **

"And why wasn't I informed about this?" asked Kirova.

I rolled my eyes. "Because Ms. Karp was a cool woman. Except the craziness part."

**Scarier still.**

**Instead, she just smiled and reached for my hands. I flinched but let her take them. She _tsk_ed when she saw the scrapes. Tightening her grip on them, she frowned slightly. A tingle burned my skin, laced with a sort of pleasant buzz, and then the wounds closed up. I had a brief sense of dizziness. My temperature spiked. The blood disappeared, as did the pain in my hip and leg.**

Lissa gasped. "She healed you."

I nodded. "Yep."

**Gasping, I jerked my hands away. I'd seen a lot of Moroi magic, but never anything like that.**

**"What…what did you do?"**

**She gave me that weird smile again. "Go back to your dorm, Rose. There are bad things out here. You never know what's following you."**

**I was still staring at my hands. "But…"**

**I looked back up at her and for the first time noticed scars on the sides of her forehead. Like nails had dug into them. She winked. "I won't tell on you if you don't tell on me."**

"What kind of teacher was she?" exclaimed my mother. "She wasn't supposed to do things like this!"

I rolled my eyes.

**I jumped back to the present, unsettled by the memory of that bizarre night. Jesse, in the meantime, was telling me about a party.**

**"You've got to slip your leash tonight. We're going up to that spot in the woods around eight thirty. Mark got some weed.**

My mom looked at me. "You didn't go, did you?"

I shook my head. "No. I was under house arrest, after all."

**I sighed wistfully, regret replacing the chill I'd felt over the memory of Ms. Karp. "Can't slip that leash. I'm with my Russian jailer."**

Dimitri looked down at me, amused. "Another nickname?"

I nodded, smiling like a 4-year-old. "Yep."

**He let go of my arm, looking disappointed, and ran a hand through his bronze-colored hair. Yeah. Not being able to hang out with him was a damned shame. I really would have to fix that someday.**

"Well, you succeded," muttered Dimitri.

**"Can't you ever get off for good behavior?" he joked.**

"Rose? Good? HA," laughed Eddie. "She was never good."

**I gave him what I hoped was a seductive smile as I found my seat. "Sure," I called over my shoulder."If I was ever good."**

"Exactly my point," said Eddie.

"Okay," said Mia. "Who wants to read next in the morning?"

"I do," said Christian. Mia nodded and marked the page by bending its corner, then she put it down.

"Fine, now let's go to sleep," I said, standing up. "Oh, yeah. Eddie?"

"Huh?"

"Can we trade partners?" I asked him, winking.

He looked at me with wide eyes, but then he smirked. "Sure."

"Wait!" said Christian. "Eddie, we're trading partners. Now."

He sighed. "Fine. I'm the only one who's going to sleep with a guy. Yippe!"

"Wait. Where am I going to sleep?" asked Mia.

"Come sleep with us," said Adrian.

Mia windened her eyes, but soon she realized that she'll be in the same room with Eddie. She nodded.

"Fine."

"Ok, now that that's settled, let's go to bed," I said, taking Dimitri's hand and leading him to our room.

* * *

**So, here we go! **

**I might also write a lemon in the next chapter if I'm in the mood. So, stay tuned! :D**

**REVIEW, please! They really make my day!**

**~Rose**


	8. Chapter 6

**Sorry, sorry, SORRY I haven't updated in like .. AGES. You're probably thinking 'OMG this bitch." Well, I have an explination! Every year, there's a huge party at my school, celebrating the end of the school year. This year, I got completely drunk, and from what I remember, I was dancing on the table in 8 inch high heels and ,I don't know how, fell off the table and broke my hand. I had a huge clasp for 3 weeks! Kinda awful if you ask me. **

**But now I'm back ! And a lot of you asked for more RxD moments, and here you are!**

**Aaaand, this chapter is HUGE! 10,000+ words. THE FUCK? **

**My first lemon! YAY! I hope I won't mess it up :\**

**Enjoy XD**

* * *

Dimitri led us to our room, which it was the last one. It was pretty boring, like the rest of this … thing. A double bed with white sheets, a black carpet and a closet.

"Hmm, I wonder if there are pajamas" I wondered out loud.

Dimitri shrugged. "I have no idea. Go and look in the closet."

I nodded and made my way towards it. I opened it and a letter fell off. Curiously, I bent down and picked it up.

_Hi, whoever is sitting in this room now,_

_I see that you've gotten sleepy. Well, here are some pajamas for both women and men. So, yeah, that's what I wanted to tell you._

_How do you like the books so far? I know Rose's point of view is funny, hehe. And if it's you, Rose, who is reading this letter now, please don't hunt me down (oh, you'll do this in the future, trust me) to kill me. It's for your and the other's good and it'll help you avoid the problems. Oh, and by the way. I will show up when you all finish the 6 books. _

_Good night, _

_RM._

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. What did she mean by saying that I'm going to go "hunting down"? And _who _am I going to hunt down? Strigoi? Yeah, very likely. But what about Dimitri? Suddenly, my curiosity grew. Now I really want to get to the third book to see what will happen next.

I put the letter back in the closet, seeing as there was no trash can and I was too lazy to go to the kitchen, and looked through some pajamas. I pulled out some short shorts and a T-shirt for me and some gray pajamas bottoms for Dimitri. I also realized that there were casual clothes too.

"Did you find anything?" askd Dimitri suddenly.

I turned around on my heel and showed him the pile of clothes in my hands. Dimtri was aleardy in the bed, fully dressed, though.

"Yup," I told him. "Catch," I said, throwing the pajama bottoms. He caught them without any problems.

He looked around, uncomfortable. "Umm… where am I going to change?"

I tried to hold back a laugh. "Really? Here."

"But … okay," he said, standing up. Then he just stood there, looking at me.

I groaned. "Okay, okay," then I turned my back at him while he was changing. I heard him sigh in relief and I almost laughed.

"Done," he said after a few minutes. I turned back and I almost drooled. He was shirtless, only in his pajama bottoms. He had a six pack that would make every girl swoon. He rose an eyebrow as to ask "see something you like?".

I smirked at him. "Damn, comrade, you're slowly killing me with your super mega extra ultra sexy looks."

He chuckled and took a step forward. And another, and another, and another till our faces were inches apart.

"Do you think I'm any better, Roza?" he asked husky. He slowly bent down as to kiss me, but instead, he kissed the corner of my mouth and then backed off.

"Tease."

He chuckled again and sat under the covers on the bed. "Change. I'm not looking," he said, then he closed his eyes and played with his thumbs.

I rolled my eyes. "Fine. But if you don't keep your promise, I'm not gonna kiss your for the next month."

He slowly nodded and I took off my shirt and jeans and tossed them across the room. Then I unclasped my bra, still facing Dimitri, and I saw one of his eyelids slightly fluttering open and I coughed.

"Remember, comrade. No kisses for a month," I reminded him.

He humph-ed but did nothing more. I took off my bra and tossed it across the room. I picked up my T-shirt and short shorts and changed in them.

"Done," I said, and then I got in bed.

Dimitri put his hand over my shoulders, pulling me closer, and I snuggled to his side. He looked down at me and brushed some strands of hair out of my face. Then he began to strok my hair.

"Are you really sleepy?" he asked me.

I shook my head, then yawned. "Just a little bit. Why?"

He shrugged. "Just wondering. It doesn't seem to be in your nature. Rose Hathaway sleepy at just eight thirty."

I punched his side playfully. "Hey! I sleep too, ya know? Everybody needs their beauty sleep."

His face turned serious. "You don't need any beauty sleep. You're aleardy beautiful. No, you're gorgeous. And you're all mine," he smiled at the last part.

I smiled wide. "Yes. Yes I am all yours."

He bent down and cupped my face with his hands, then he captured my lips into a passionate kiss, filled with all the love he had for me. I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him closer to me. He switched his position so now he was standing on top of me. Our kiss' intensity increased, becoming more hungry, and he slipped his hands under my shirt, tracing lines on my back and sending shivers down my spine. I unbuttoned my shorts and took them off, never breaking our kiss. We only broke it when he took off my shirt. Right now, I was just in my knickers.

Dimitri's eyes roamed over my body, filled with lust. His eyes were usually a dark brown, but right now they were black. Which means he wanted me. I mentally smirked. But then, his look changed when he looked at my face.

"Are you sure you want this?" he asked me, concern in his voice.

"Of course I want it," I said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. And right now, it was. He smiled.

He bent down and kissed me once more, our tongues fighting for dominance. His lips travelled lower, to my neck, to my collarbone … when they were about to reach my breasts, I stopped him.

"Didn't you just say that you want it?" he asked, confused.

I smirked. "Well, yeah, but you're wearing _way _too many clothes for my liking."

He grinned at me. "Why don't you make the honors, Roza?"

I winked at him. "I think I like this side of you better, Comrade."

"Things you make me do, Roza," he said and sighed.

Then he gently cupped my breasts in his hands, while my feet were slowly dragging his bottoms down. He massaged my breasts and played with my hard nipples, twisting them between his thumb and index finger, making my back arch with pleasure. I moaned.

"Stop teasing," I whined, and he smirked up at me.

"Fine."

His mouth lowered down to take one in his mouth, and he began to bit and lick on my nipple, while the other hand was gently massaging the other breasts. I moaned loud, feeling myself getting wetter and wetter. Dimitri seemed to realize that because his hand slid in my kickers and began to massage my clit with his thumb.

"Oh… God," I moaned.

He grinned again and stopped licking my nipples. Instead, his lips travelled up to my chest, neck, and to my jaw line, until they found my mouth. He kissed me hungyrly while his hands were slowly dragging my panties down. I nearly whimpered at the touch. Right now, we were both naked (Dimitri's bottoms were somewhere on the bed. And, oh God, Dimitri was HUGE). His right hand travelled up my leg, my thigh, leaving hot spots where his skin touched mine. His hand was between my legs, massaging my clit again. Before I even knew it, he added one finger and began fingering me. I gasped, making us broke the kiss.

"Mmm, you're so wet, Roza," murmured Dimitri, adding another finger.

"Oh.. God. Dimtri," I moaned.

He added one more finger and pumped me faster and harder. That's it. I want him inside me now. My back arched for him and another moan escaped my lips.

"Dimitri.. I want you .. inside me. Now," I ordered him through heavy breathings.

He stopped what he was doing and looked at me concerned. "Are you sure?"

I nodded. "Yes."

A hint of a smile crossed his lips. "Okay," he said, then he looked at me seriously before anything could happen. "If I hurt you too much or you get uncomfortable, just tell me and I'll stop, okay? I know this is your first time, so it's going to hurt a little bit."

I nodded again. "Okay."

He looked into my eyes again and brushed some hair out of my face, before lowering his torso to rest against mine.

"Remember what I said, okay?" he told me.

"I'll remember, don't worry," I reassured him.

A thrill of excitement ran through me as he pushed my legs further, so he could position himself at my entrance. And then, he entered me. I gasped at the feeling of him being inside me and tangled my fingers in his hair. At first, he moved slowly and gently, making sure he didn't hurt me. But I wanted more. He pulled back and looked at me concerned, and I nodded, telling him to continue and that I could handle it.

He seemed to understand my message because he thrusted into me again, harder this time and deeper. I wrapped my legs around his waist, keeping him close to me as he pulled back and pushed into me once more. I gasped this time, feeling something break inside of me, informing me I wasn't a virgin anymore. There was pain, of course, but not something I couldn't handle. Dimitri seemed to realize that and stopped his thrusts and looked at me deeply in the eyes. When the pain had faded, I nodded at him to continue.

He smiled at me and pushed into me once more. I digged my nails in his back and bit his shoulder, afraid that if I moan again, the others would hear us. I stopped my bitings, noticing that I might leave an ugly mark and threw my head on the pillow. Dimtiri bent down and kissed me gently and sweetly, our bodies moving together.

Small moans and groans escaped my mouth as he kept thrusting in me faster, murmuring my name in Russian over and over again. His right hand's fingers were tangled in my hair, while his left hand was supporting him, so he won't crush me.

Then, I felt my stomach tightening and he pulled back and thrusted into me, harder than he did before. That's all it takes to reach my first orgasm ever. My walls were tightening around him, and that's all it takes to push him on the edge too. I rocked my hips against him again as he pushed in me faster, before groaning something in Russian and resting his head on my chest, practically hugging me.

We were both breathing heavily and I stroked his hair, not surprised to find it a little bit wet. In fact, I was sweating too. I bent down and kissed his forehead, keeping my lips there for more than three seconds.

He rolled us over so he was underneath me, my head resting on his chest. He stroked my hair and murmured something in Russian.

"I love you, Roza," he finally said, and kissed me gently on the lips.

I snuggled in his chest further. "I love you too, Dimitri."

He kissed the top of my head and threw the covers on us. I felt my eyelids slowly closing, but I shook my head and tried to keep them open. Dimitri realized that and chuckled.

"Go to sleep, Roza. We both need it."

"But I don't want to go to sleep. I want to stay like this. Forever."

He kissed my eyelids. "I will still be here. Even if I wake up first, I would still be here."

I looked at him again, before leaning in and kissing him on the lips. "Good night, Comrade."

He smiled down at me. "Good night, Roza. Sweet dreams."

With that, I closed my eyes and fell asleep in the love of my life's arms.

I woke up next morning to gentle hands stroking my hair. My eyelids fluttered open and I saw Dimitri's gorgeous brown orbs, looking down at me with so much love that it made my soul ache. In a good way.

"Ooo," he said, smiling. "Sleeping Beauty finally awakenes."

I smiled at him, then yawned. "Morning. "

He bent down and kissed me on the lips. "How'd you sleep?"

I grinned. "Perfect. I slept like a log."

He chuckled. "I'm not surprised."

I smirked at him. "What are the others doing? Did they wake up?"

"Yeah, just a couple of minutes ago. I think they're having breakfast right now."

I windened my eyes. "Breakfast?" he nodded. "Without me?"

He laughed, the sound wrapping me like an embrace. "Let's go then."

Me and Dimitri walked out of the room –fully dressed, of course- hand in hand, smiling at each other like idiots and laughing. My friends,mom, Stan, Alberta and Kirova were all sitting in the reading room, eating some cereals with milk. Ew. I've always hated milk. They heard me and Dimitri closing the door behind us and looked at us.

"Good morning all," I said happily, smiling from ear to ear.

"Hey, Rose!" said Lissa, while the others murmured 'morning.' "Why are you so happy this morning? You usually hate mornings."

I exchanged a smiling glance with Dimitri, then I hugged his muscular arm and rested my head on it.

Everyone nearly dropped their bowls on the floor. Through the bond, I felt Lissa being shocked, but super happy at the same time. She and Mia were smiling at me and Dimitri, while Eddie, Adrian and Christian had their faces scrunched, clearly not enjoying the mental image. Alberta had the guardian mask on, but I could see in her eyes that she was happy. My mom and Kirova were staring at me and Dimitri angrily, while Stan was looking at Dimitri with a look that said '_I'll never get to look at you the same way I did before, buddy'. _

"OHMYGOD!" squealed Mia and Lissa. "Congratulations, you two!"

"Yeah, congrats on the sex," muttered Adrian.

"Rosemarie!" exclaimed my mom agrily. "What's the meaning of what happened?"

"Love," I said, smiling up at Dimitri. He smiled widely at me and kissed my forehead.

"AWWWW!" said Mia and Lissa at the sime time. Gosh, those two could be twins.

"I guess our Rosie just grew up. Welcome to the club," said Christian, smirking at me. I glared at him, even though my smile kinda betrayed me.

"Guys, I'm hungry," I said, rubbing my stomach.

Lissa pointed to the kitched with her spoon. "There. Your favorite cereals and yogurt."

"Cereals with yogurt?" asked Adrian disgusted. "Who the hell eats that?"

"Rose, of couse. She hates milk," said Eddie

"You're wierd," muttered Adrian. I stuck my tongue out at him. Then I made my way to the kitchen.

I poured myself some cereals with cinnamon in a bowl and mixed them with yogurt. Yum. Delicious. Then I made my way back to the reading room and sat in Dimtiri's lap.

"Who's going to read now?" I asked, eating my cereals.

"Me," offered Christian. He picked up the book and cleared his throat. "Chapter six"

**AS MUCH AS LISSA AND Christian's meeting bothered me,**

"Watch out, Rose. I'm going to convert her to the Satanic side," said Christian 'scarly'.

"Shut up and read!"

**it gave me an idea the next day.**

"I'd like to hear this," said Adrian.

**"Hey, Kirova—er, Ms. Kirova."**

Kirova sighed and shook her head, while Eddie and Adrian laughed.

"I said it before and I meant it. Rose and the titles: big dilemma," said Eddie.

**I stood in the doorway of her office, not having bothered to make an appointment.**

"Of course," muttered Kirova.

**She raised her eyes from some paperwork, clearly annoyed to see me.**

"Who isn't?" asked Christian.

I cleared my throat. "Umm, excuse me. Many people are pleased to see me."

"Like who?"

"Dimitri, Lissa, sadly Adrian … "

"Hey!" exclaimed Adrian. "I have feelings!"

**"Yes, Miss Hathaway?"**

**"Does my house arrest mean I can't go to church?"**

My friends cracked up laughing.

"Rose? Church?" asked Eddie through laughter.

"You'd be surprised," I said, smirking at him.

**"I beg your pardon?"**

"What pardon, Christian?" asked Adrian, confused.

I did a facepalm. "He was reading the next line in the book."

Adrian's lips formed a perfect "O" "Oh."

**"You said that whenever I'm not in class or practice, I have to stay in the dorm. But what about church on Sundays? I don't think it's really fair to keep me away from my religious…um, needs."**

The boys laughed.

"I can't believe she said that," said Adrian, laughing.

"Well, I said it. Now shut up."

**Or deprive me of another chance— no matter how short and boring—to hang out with Lissa.**

Kirova shook her head. "I should've known better."

Eddie smirked at me. "That's the Rose we all know and love!"

**She pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. "I wasn't aware you had any religious needs."**

**"I found Jesus while I was gone."**

All my friends –and Dimitri- laughed.

"I can't believe you said that, Rose," said Lissa.

I shrugged. "Hey. Did you want me to be near you or not?"

**"Isn't your mother an atheist?" she asked skeptically.**

"Yes. Yes, I am," agreed my mom.

**"And my dad's probably Muslim.**

"No, he's an atheist too," said my mom.

I looked at her. "Really? How was my dad?"

He looked at nothing, probably remembering him. "A lot like you. You shared a lot of his traits."

"And…?"

"Keep reading, Lord Ozera," ordered my mom.

**But I've moved on to my own path. You shouldn't keep me from it."**

**She made a noise that sort of sounded like a snicker. "No, Miss Hathaway, I should not. Very well. You may attend services on Sundays."**

"LOL Kirova," I said. "You were so gullible."

"LOL? Really Rose?" asked Lissa, exasperated.

"What's LOL?" asked Kirova.

I rolled my eyes. "Drop it."

**The victory was short-lived, however, because church was every bit as lame as I remembered when I attended a few days later.**

"Church isn't lame," said Lissa.

"Actually, Lissy, it is," said Christian.

"Lissy?" I asked.

He nodded and I sighed, running a hand through my hair. I was supposed to be the one with the nicknames!

**I did get to sit next to Lissa, though, which made me feel like I was getting away with something. **

"Rose was in ecstasy," said Adrian.

**Mostly I just people-watched. **

"Just like in Stan's class," I said, chuckling and looking at him. He just glared at me.

**Church was optional for students, but with so many Eastern European families, a lot of students were Eastern Orthodox Christians and attended either because they believed**

"Me," said Lissa.

**or because their parents made them.**

"Me," said Mia, sighing.

**Christian sat on the opposite side of the aisle, pretending to be just as holy as he'd said. As much as I didn't like him, his fake faith still made me smile.**

Christian fake-gasped. "I made Rose Hathaway smile. I can die a happy man."

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever. Read."

**Dimitri sat in the back**

"Ooh, Dimitri," said Adrian, wagging his eyebrows.

"Of course she recognized him," said Christian.

**face lined with shadows, and, like me, didn't take communion. As thoughtful as he looked, I wondered if he even listened to the service.**

"Yes, I did," addmited Dimitri.

**I tuned in and out.**

**"Following God's path is never easy," the priest was saying.**

"For a moment I thought _you_ were saying that," said Eddie.

I snorted. "Psh, please."

**"Even St. Vladimir, this school's own patron saint, had a difficult time. He was so filled with spirit**

" 'Filled with spirit'," I said. "The answer was just in front of my eyes."

"The person in front of you?," asked Christian.

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, Christian. The person in front of me."

**that people often flocked around him, enthralled just to listen and be in his presence.**

"That reminds me of someone. But who? Hmm," said Adrian, tapping his chin. "It was a girl. What was her name? Lucy? Larisa? Melissa?"

I groaned. "Oh, God!"

**So great was his spirit, the old texts say, that he could heal the sick. Yet despite these gifts, many did not respect him. They mocked him, claiming he was misguided and confused."**

**Which was a nice way of saying Vladimir was insane.**

"Only you would say something like that," said Kirova.

"Me and the rest of the school," I said, rolling my eyes.

**Everyone knew it.**

"See? You ain't fooling anybody."

Kirova shook her head in exasperation.

**He was one of a handful of Moroi saints, so the priest liked to talk about him a lot. I'd heard all about him, many times over, before we left. Great. It looked like I had an eternity of Sundays to hear his story over and over again.**

"Or just till you graduate," said Adrian.

**"…and so it was with shadow-kissed Anna."**

"I know a girl who's shadow-kissed. What was her name? Annemarie? Marie? Rosalie? Rosalinda? Rozalia? Rosamaria? Ros…" said Adrian but I cut him off.

"ROSE FUCKING HATHAWAY IT WAS HER NAME! Now shut up!"

Adrian rose his hands in surrender. "Ok, ok. Calm down, woman."

**I jerked my head up. I had no idea what the priest was talking about now, because I hadn't been listening for some time.**

"Doesn't surprise me at all," muttered my mom.

"You're not alone," agreed Stan.

**But those words burned into me.**_** Shadow-kissed**__**.**_**It had been a while since I heard them, but I'd never forgotten them. I waited, hoping he'd continue, but he'd already moved on to the next part of the service. The sermon was over.**

**Church concluded, and as Lissa turned to go, I shook my head at her. "Wait for me. I'll be right there."**

**I pushed my way through the crowd, up to the front, where the priest was speaking with a few people. I waited impatiently while he finished. Natalie was there, asking him about volunteer work she could do. Ugh.**

"Ugh indeed," I said. "I hope I won't do volunteer work. Only if Dimitri was there."

"Oh, God," said Christian, horrified. "I just don't wanna know how that would end up like."

**When she finished, she left, greeting me as she passed.**

**The priest raised his eyebrows when he saw me. "Hello, Rose. It's nice to see you again."**

**"Yeah…you too," I said. "I heard you talking about Anna. About how she was 'shadow-kissed.' What does that mean?"**

"That she died and then she rose from the dead," explained Adrian.

"Thanks for stating the obvious," I said rolling my eyes.

**He frowned. "I'm not entirely sure. She lived a very long time ago. It was often common to refer to people by titles that reflected some of their traits. It might have been given to make her sound fierce."**

I snorted. "Yeah, sure."

**I tried to hide my disappointment. "Oh. So who was she?"**

**This time his frown was disapproving rather than thoughtful. "I mentioned it a number of times."**

**"Oh. I must have, um, missed that."**

Dimtri shook his head. "Of course."

I pouted my lower lip." What's that supposed to mean?"

He smiled and kissed my pouted lip. "Nothing, love.'

The boys gagged.

"I think I'm gonna … puke," said Christian.

I shrugged. "Fine. But don't puke on Lissa. She will stink and the horrible smell will reach my nose," I said, waving my hand under my nose.

**His disapproval grew, and he turned around. "Wait just a moment."**

**He disappeared through the door near thealtar, the one Lissa had taken to the attic. I considered fleeing but thought God might strike me down for that.**

"I can so imagine that," said Adrian. "A lighting coming out of nowhere hitting Rose in the head and then a voice saying 'This is for not respecting me. Now you will DIE!' "

Christian laughed. "Ohohoo, yeah. My sweetest dreams'd come true!"

**Less than a minute later, the priest returned with a book. He handed it to me. _Moroi Saints__._**

**"You can learn about her in here. The next time I see you, I'd like to hear what you've learned."**

"Ohohoh," laughed Adrian. "The priest gave you homework. Nasty."

**I scowled as I walked away. Great. Homework from the priest.**

Adrian smirked at me.

**In the chapel's entry way, I found Lissa talking to Aaron. She smiled as she spoke,**

Christian's face grew dark. Lissa noticed that and she placed a light kiss on his lips while me, Adrian, Mia and Eddie gagged.

"Ew guys," I groaned. "Go get a room."

Christian glared at me. "Like you and Belikov?"

I smirked at him. "Yep. Just like me and him."

**and the feelings coming off her were happy, though certainly not infatuated.**

**"You're kidding," she exclaimed.**

**He shook his head."Nope."**

**Seeing me stroll over, she turned to me. "Rose, you're never going to believe this. You know Abby Badica?And Xander? Their guardian wants to resign. And marry _another_guardian."**

"Hmm," began Adrian. "This reminds me of two people. But wha-"

"Shut the hell up!" I yelled at him. "Me and Dimitri aren't getting married," I told him, then I turned to Dimitri. "Yet," I winked and he smiled.

**Now _this_was exciting gossip. A scandal, actually."Seriously? Are they, like, going to run off together?"**

**She nodded. "They're getting a house. Going to get jobs with humans, I guess."**

**I glanced at Aaron, who had suddenly turned shy with me there. "How are Abby and Xander dealing with that?"**

**"Okay. Embarrassed. They think it's stupid." Then he realized who he was speaking to. "Oh. I didn't mean—"**

"HA!" said Christian, smugly. "Take that Aaron Smallass Drozdov! Highfive, Rose!" he rose his hand and I highfived him awkwardly.

"Geez, Christian," I said. "I've never met a such jealous guy like you. Calm down."

**"Whatever." I gave him a tight smile. "It **_**is**_**stupid."**

I felt Dimitri's hold on my waist loosening. He looked down at me with a sad look in his beautiful brown eyes.

"Stupid?" he asked, sounding hurt. Everyone held their breaths, not knowing what to except. "You think loving another guardian it's stupid? That means that our relationship is stupid."

I cursed myself for saying those words then. "I didn't know that I would actually fell in love with another guardian," I told him sincerely, looking him in the eyes. He turned his head to his right, avoiding my gaze. I rose my hand and grabbed his chin, forcing him to look at me. "Dimitri, look at me. I had NO idea that I will fall for another guardian back then. I had no idea that you will mean so much for me. If I knew, I would definitely not say what I said. I don't think like that anymore. Ever since I've finally seen how much you mean to me I stopped thinking like that. I love you so much and I would do anything to be with you, even if it means breaking guardian's protocol, even if it means having people talk behind our backs. I wouldn't – I don't- care. All I want is to be with you. Forever. I love you."

I said all of this in a dead serious tone, looking at him straight in his gorgeous dark brown orbs, who were gazing back in mine with so much love. I didn't care that there were other people in the room. Right now, it was only me and him.

"I love you too, Roza. More than life itself," then he bent down and captured my lips in a full, passionate kiss. His lips moved perfectly against mine while he kissed me fiercely, yet so gently.

We broke apart for a couple of moments, both panting heavily, the kiss leaving us both breathless. He rested his forehead against mine and wrapped his hands around my waist while mine were cupping his face. He smiled at me and brushed some hair out of my face. Words weren't needed for moments like this. We understood each other perfectly, we were always in sync. We were so alike, yet so different. But something we sure had in common: we were each other's soul mate. I could feel it deep down in me that I found the missing piece of my soul, the one that competed it. There was no denying.

The moment was rudely interrupted by my mom who cleared her throat. I've really forgotten that we weren't alone. Dimitri took his forehead off mine and I turned over, so I could face everyone. I felt Dimitri resting his head on my shoulder. In the reading room, everyone had different expressions on their faces. Lissa and Mia were smiling at me like some proud mothers, Christian had his head crocked to the side with one eye narrowed, his mouth slightly opened and his eyebrows furrowed. Eddie and Adrian were looking around uncomfortably. Kirova and Stan had blank expressions, while Alberta was smiling at us.

"Aww, you guys are beyond cute!" exclaimed Lissa in a pitched voice. "Awww!"

"She's right. It was like watching a romance movie," said Mia, smiling.

"Yeah, yeah, they're cuter that ponies and cupcakes, can we please start reading now?" said Adrian irritated.

"Fuck yeah, bro," agreed Christian, picking up the book. "If I'll watch more soap operas I think I'll become a girl."

**Wow. I was stunned. The rebellious part me of loved any story where people "fought the system."**

"You wouldn't be Rose if you didn't," said Eddie and I smirked at him.

"So true, bro."

**Only, in this case, they were fighting _my_system, the one I'd been trained to believe in my entire life.**

**Dhampirs and Moroi had a strange arrangement.**

Christian stopped reading and skimmed over pages. Then his eyes windened.

"Holy fuck! How many useless, aleardy known information!" exclaimed Christian. "Can we skip this part?"

"What is it about?" asked Alberta.

"Well," said Christian, looking at the book again. "Pretty much why dhampirs can't reproduce with humans or other dhampirs," I bowed my head when he said that. It sucks that me and Dimitri can't have kids. We'd have some badass kids, that's for sure, "why some female dhampirs decide to become guardians, why others not, etc."

I sighed. "Fine. You can skip it. We all know all those kinds of information anyway."

**And that was what made what the Badicas' guardian had done so shocking. He'd abandoned his Moroi and run off with another guardian, which meant she'd abandoned _her_Moroi. They couldn't even have children together, and now two families were unprotected. What was the point?**

"Love," I said smiling, looking up at Dimitri. He smiled and kissed the top of my head.

**No one cared if teenage dhampirs dated or if adult dhampirs had flings. But a long-term relationship? Particularly one that involved them running away?A complete waste. And a disgrace.**

I shook my head at my own stupidity.

**After a little more speculation on the Badicas, Lissa and I left Aaron. As we stepped outside, I heard a funny shifting sound and then something sliding.**

Mia tried to hide her smirk, but failed miserably.

"That was pretty funny," said Mia.

Me and Lissa glared at her.

**Too late, I realized what was happening, just as a pile of slush slid off the chapel's roof and onto us. It was early October,**

"It's pretty funny that all of this happened just a few months ago," I commented.

**and we'd had early snow last night that had started melting almost immediately. As a result, the stuff that fell on us was very wet and very cold.**

**Lissa took the brunt of it, but I still yelped as icy water landed on my hair and neck. A few others squealed nearby too, having caught the edge of the mini-avalanche.**

"Gosh. Mini-avalanche?," muttered Adrian. "Exagerrate much?"

I flipped him off. "That thing was cold!"

**"You okay?" I asked her. Her coat was drenched, and her platinum hair**

"We know how her hair looks!" said Adrian. "Do you really have to be so descriptive in your mind?"

I shrugged.

**clung to the sides of her face.**

"I'm surprised you didn't describe how her face looks like," muttered Adrian.

**"Y-yeah," she said through chattering teeth.**

**I pulled off my coat and handed it to her. It had a slick surface and had repelled most of the water.**

**"Take yours off."**

"Oooh, Christian," said Eddie, wagging his eyebrows at Christian.

Christian glared at Eddie. "I was reading the next line, dumbass."

"Oh," said Eddie. But then he turned to me and started to wag his eyebrows at me. "Oooh, Rose."

Everyone laughed except me. I was glaring holes in Eddie's head.

**"But you'll be - "**

**"Take this."**

**She did, and as she slipped on my coat, I finally tuned into the laughter that always follows these situations.**

"See? Like I said, that was _funny_," said Mia.

"We weren't laughing because of 'how funny' was the situation," said Lissa.

**I avoided the eyes, instead focusing on holding Lissa's wet jacket while she changed.**

"Like it's very hard to hold a stupid jacket," said Christian. "But she's Rose Hathaway. You don't know what to except from her."

"Shut up and read!" I ordered.

**"Wish you hadn't been wearing a coat, Rose," said Ralf Sarcozy an unusually bulky and plump Moroi. I hated him.**

"Rose hates everyone," said Eddie.

"Especially when she's in that time of the month," continued Christian.

"Not true!" I defented myself.

"That means you love me?" asked Adrian hopefully.

"No."

"See?" asked Eddie. "Exactly my point."

"Hey! I don't love Adrian, but I don't hate him either. Or maybe I love him, but in a brothery way."

"YES!" said Adrian, looking at the ceiling with his hands in the air. "Thank you, Lord!"

**"That shirt would have looked good wet."**

Dimitri and my mom glared at the book.

**"That shirt's so ugly it should be burned. Did you get that from a homeless person?"**

**I glanced up as Mia walked over and looped her arm through Aaron's. Her blond curls were arranged perfectly, and she had on an awesome pair of black heels**

"Woah, so many compliments for Mia," she said.

**that would have looked much better on me. At least they made her look taller, I'd give her that.**

Mia sighed irritaed while I smiled innocently at her.

**Aaron had been a few steps behind us but had miraculously avoided being nailed by the slush. Seeing how smug she looked, I decided there'd been no**

**miracles involved.**

**"I suppose you want to offer to burn it, huh?" I asked,refusing to let her know how much that insult bugged me. I knew perfectly well my fashion sense had slipped over the last two years. "Oh, wait—fire isn't your element, is it?**

"No, it's mine," said Christian.

"That's a badass element," I said. "If I were a Moroi, I'd definitely want to have fire as my element."

Christian arched an eyebrow. "Are you complimenting me?"

"No," I said, rolling my eyes. "I'm just complimenting your element. It's a totally different story."

**You work with water. What a coincidence that a bunch just fell on us."**

**Mia looked as if she'd been insulted, but the gleam in her eyes showed that she was enjoying this way too much to be an innocent bystander.**

"You spot liars very easily," said Mia.

"Nah. You're just a very bad liar," I said, smirking at her.

**"What's that supposed to mean?"**

**"Nothing to Ms. Kirova will probably have something to say when she finds out you used magic against another student."**

"Yeah, cause you wouldn't have done the same thing if you were in my place," said Mia, rolling her eyes.

"Hey!"

**"That wasn't an attack," she scoffed. "And it wasn't me. It was an act of God."**

"God, Mia. You were such a … bitch," said Adrian.

Mia showed Adrian the finger. "Suck it and shut up."

**A few others laughed, much to her delight. In my imagination, I responded with, **_**So is this**__**,**_**and then slammed her into the side of the church.**

Mia looked up at me, horrified. "I'm glad you didn't do it."

"Oh, I wanted to. I wanted to very badly."

Mia touched her nose absently. "Yeah, well, your wish came true at least."

**In real life, Lissa simply nudged me and said, "Let's go."**

"Go Lissa!" cheered Adrian.

**She and I walked off toward our respective dorms, leaving behind laughter and jokes about our wet states**

"You have no idea how dirty that sounds, little dhampir," said Adrian, smirking at me.

Before I could say something, Christian put the book down with a loud thump and looked at glared at everyone.

"If anyone interrupts me again, I will brun you down to ashes. Understood?" said Christian angrily, and to prove his point, fire started to come from his fingertips, but he held them under control.

My friends –except Lissa- gulped. I, on the other hand, was studying my nails, clearly not frightened about Christian's death treath. Note the sarcasm.

**and how Lissa wouldn't know anything about specialization. Inside, I seethed. I had to do something about Mia, I realized. In addition to the general irritation of Mia's bitchiness,**

Mia glared at me.

"What?" I asked, throwing my hands up. "You were a bitch."

"What did I tell you?" asked Christian angrily.

I waved my hand in front of his face, telling him to continue. "Keep reading, fireboy."

**I didn't want Lissa to have to deal with any more stress than she had to. We'd been okay this first week, and I wanted to keep it that way.**

**"You know," I said, "I'm thinking more and more that you stealing Aaron back is a good thing. It'll teach Bitch Doll**

"I want no comments on the 'bitch doll' comment, alright Mia?" I told her when Mia opened her mouth to say something.

**a lesson. I bet it'd be easy, too. He's still crazy about you."**

**"I don't want to teach anyone a lesson," said Lissa. "And **_**I'm**_**not crazy about him."**

Christian stopped reading for a second to smile smugly.

**"Come on, she picks fights and talks about us behind our backs. She accused me of getting jeans from the Salvation Army yesterday."**

**"Your jeans _are_from the Salvation Army."**

"Oooh, BURN!" sang Adrian, pointing at me with his index finger.

"That's it," said Christian. He put the book down and rose from his place and made his way towards Adrian. He had flames in his hands. "What did I tell you about interrupting me again, Ivashkov?" he asked angrily, bending down to glare at Adrian. He looked slightly scared but didn't want to show it.

"That you'll burn me down to ashes," he said casually.

"And you know I keep my promise, don't you?"

Adrian slightly gulped. "I don't know."

"Well, now you know," he said balling his palm into fire-fists. When he was about to punch Adrian, Lissa shouted.

"Christian! Drop it!"

He looked at Lissa, then at Adrian, then at Lissa again, sighed in defeat and made his way back to his spot next to Lissa.

"You should thank Lissa," said Christian. Geez, he's such a drama queen.

**"Well, yeah," I snorted, "but she has no right making fun of them when she's wearing stuff from Target."**

**"Hey, there's nothing wrong with Target. I like Target."**

**"So do I . That's not the point. She's trying to pass her stuff off like it's freaking Stella McCartney."**

**"And that's a crime?"**

"Yes!" I exclaimed.

**I affected a solemn face."Absolutely. You've gotta take revenge."**

**"I told you, I'm not interested in revenge." Lissa cut me a sidelong look. "And you shouldn't be either."**

**I smiled as innocently as I could, and when we parted ways, I felt relieved again that she couldn't read my thoughts.**

"Well, you can now," I muttered.

**"So when's the big catfight going to happen?"**

"At the school dance," said Christian.

"Oooh, so we can't interrupt you but you can interrupt yourself?" said Adrian, crossing his arms over his chest.

Christian just shrugged.

**Mason was waiting for me outside our dorm after I'd parted ways with Lissa. He looked lazy and cute, leaning against the wall with crossed arms as he watched me.**

"I miss him so much," I said sadly, my voice slightly breaking, looking at the carpet.

Dimitri hugged me tight from behind my back and buried his face in my hair, just below my ear. "Shh, Roza. It's okay. Everything's okay," he murmured then he started to murmur some thing in Russian.

I inhaled and exhaled deeply to calm myself down, then turned over and placed a kiss on Dimitri's cheek. "Thank you," I said with a smile which he returned.

"Always, my dearest Roza."

**"I'm sure I don't know what you mean."**

Eddie scoffed. "Sure. And I'm Tatiana."

"Hey!" exclaimed Adrian. "That's my aunt!"

I looked at him. "Really?"

He nooded. "Yeah. I'm her favorite great-nephew. Well, I'm his only great-nephew, but it doesn't matter because I'd still be her favorite. I mean, I'm handsome, funny and simply awesome. Who wouldn't love me?"

"Everyone in this room," I said bored.

**He unfolded himself and walked with me into the building, handing me his coat, since I'd let Lissa go off with my dry one.**

"He was such a cute guy," I whispered sadly.

"Yeah, he really was," said Lissa with her head bowed.

**"I saw you guys sparring outside the chapel. Have you no respect for the house of God?"**

"No," everyone in the room said.

I rolled my eyes. "Woah, I'm so loved!"

**I snorted. "You've got about as much respect for it as I do, you heathen. You didn't even go. Besides, as you said, we were _outside._"**

**"And you still didn't answer the question."**

**I just grinned and slipped on his coat.**

**We stood in the common area of our dorm, a well-supervised lounge and study area where male and female students could mingle, along with Moroi guests. Being Sunday, it was pretty crowded with those cramming for last-minute assignments due tomorrow. Spying a small, empty table, I grabbed Mason's arm and pulled him toward it.**

"Weren't you under house arrest, miss Hathaway?" asked Kirova angrily. "What were you doing in the library? And why wasn't I informed about this?"

"Just shut up and listen if you want to know!"

**"Aren't you supposed to go straight to your room?"**

**I hunkered down in my seat, glancing around warily. "There are so many people heretoday, it'll take them a while to notice me. God, I'm so sick of being locked away. And it's only been a week."**

**"I'm sick of it too. We missed you last night. A bunch of us went and shot pool in the rec room. Eddie was on fire."**

Eddie laughed at the memory. "Oh, God, that was AWSOME!"

**I groaned. "Don't tell me that. I don't want to hear about your glamorous social life."**

**"All right."He propped his elbow up on the table and rested his chin in his hand. "Then tell me about Mia.**

She arched an eyebrow. Seriously, everyone could do that but me?

**You're just going to turn around and punch her one day, aren't you?**

"Yes, she will," said Mia, glaring at me.

**I think I remember you doing that at least ten times with people that pissed you off."**

**"I'm a new, reformed Rose,"**

Everyone in the room laughed.

"Should we believe it?" asked Eddie.

**I said, doing my best impression of wasn't very good. He emitted a choking sort of laugh. "Besides, if I do that, I'll have broken my probation with Kirova. Gotta walk the straight and narrow."**

**"In other words, find some way to get back at Mia that you won't get in trouble for."**

**I felt a smile tug at the corners of my lips. "You know what I like about you, Mase? You think just like I do."**

"That's scary," said Adrian.

**"Frightening concept," he replied drily. "So tell me what you think of this: I might know something about her, but I probably shouldn't tell you…"**

"Whar the hell does he know about me?" exclaimed Mia angrily.

**I leaned forward. "Oh, you already tipped me off. You've _got_to tell me now."**

**"It'd be wrong," he teased. "How do I know you'd use this knowledge for good instead of evil?"**

**I batted my eyelashes. "Can you resist this face?"**

Dimitri groaned and shook his head. "Even _I _can't resist that face."

I looked up at him, an evil glint in my eyes. "Good to know, Comrade. Good to know."

**He took a moment to study me. "No. I can't, actually. Okay, here you go: Mia isn't royal ."**

Christian snorted. "No, shit."

**I slouched back in my chair. "No kidding. I already knew that. I've known who's royal since I was two."**

**"Yeah, but there's more than just that. Her parents work for one of the Drozdov lords." **

Adrian turned to Mia. "Really?" he asked.

Mia blushed and looked down. "Yeah. Well, only my father now," she said, her voice kinda breaking. She gazed at nothing with a sad look on her face. Definitely remembering that horrible day when she found out her mom was killed by strigoi.

Eddie put a reassuring arm around Mia's shoulders and murmured something in her ear. She nodded, still gazing sadly.

"Keep reading, Christian," she said.

**I waved my hand impatiently. A lot of Moroi worked out in the human world, but Moroi society had plenty of jobs for its own kind too. Someone had to fill them."Cleaning stuff. Practically servants. Her dad cuts grass, and her mom's a maid."**

Now Mia had tears in her eyes.

"Mom," she managed to choke out while a tear escaped from her right eye. She buried her face in her hands and started crying. Eddie brought her to his chest and hugged her tight, his hand moving up and down her back and tracing patterns, while Mia kept crying in his chest. He stroked her blond hair and murmured calming things in her ear. I was watching this scene shocked. Was something between them?

When Mia had calmed down, she sniffled and looked at Eddie, thanking him and smiling. He returned her smile.

"Umm," said Christian, awkwardly, "can I read now?"

Mia nodded. "Yeah."

**I actually had a healthy respect for anyone who pulled a full day's work, regardless of the job. People everywhere had to do crappy stuff to make a , much like with Target, it became another matter altogether when someone was trying to pass herself off as something else. And in the week that I'd been**

**here, I'd picked up on how desperately Mia wanted to fit in with the school elite.**

**"No one knows," I said thoughtfully.**

Christian looked at me with fake shock. "Noooo! Really? Woaah!"

"Shut up," I growled.

**"And she doesn't want them to. You know how the royals are." He paused. "Well, except for Lissa, of course.**

Lissa smiled at the book. "Thank you, Mase," she muttered.

**They'd give Mia a hard time over it."**

**"How do you know all this?"**

**"My uncle's a guardian for the Drozdovs."**

"That explains a lot," muttered Mia.

**"And you've just been sitting on this secret, huh?"**

**"Until you broke me. So which path will you choose: good or evil?"**

Christian snorted. "What a dumb question. Evil, of course."

**"I think I'll give her a grace—"**

**"Miss Hathaway, you know you aren't supposed to be here."**

"Busted," sang Adrian.

**One of the dorm matrons stood over us, disapproval all over her face. I hadn't been joking when I said Mason thought like me. He could bullshit as well as I could. "We have a group project to do for our humanities class. How are we supposed to do it if Rose is in isolation?"**

**The matron narrowed her eyes. "You don't look like you're doing work."**

**I slid over the priest's book and opened it at random. I'd placed it on the table when we sat down. "We're, um, working on this."**

**She still looked suspicious. "One hour. I'll give you one more hour down here, and I'd better actually see you working."**

"Gosh, she was so gullible," I said, amused.

**"Yes, ma'am," said Mason straight-faced. "Absolutely."**

**She wandered off, still eyeing us. "My hero," I declared.**

**He pointed at the book. "What is this?"**

**"Something the priest gave me. I had a question about the service."**

**He stared at me, astonished.**

**"Oh, stop it and look interested." I skimmed the index. "I'm trying to find some woman named Anna."**

**Mason slid his chair over so that he was sitting right beside me."All right. Let's 'study.'"**

Christian used air quotes for "study".

**I found a page number, and it took me to the section on St. Vladimir, not surprisingly. We read through the chapter, scanning for Anna's name. When we found it, the author didn't have much to say about her. He did include an excerpt written by some guy who had apparently lived at the same time as St. Vladimir:**

**And with Vladimir always is Anna, the daughter of Fyodor. Their love is as chaste and pure as that of brother and sister, and many times has she defended him from Strigoi who would seek to destroy him and his holiness. Likewise, it is she who comforts him when the spirit becomes too much tobear, and Satan's darkness tries to smother him and weaken his own health and body. This too she defends against, for they have been bound together ever since he saved her life as a child. It is a sign of God's love that. He has sent the blessed Vladimir a guardian such as her, one who is shadow-kissed and always knows what is in his heart and mind.**

"Gosh, just look at this," I said, pointing to the book. "Everything that I needed ws right in front of my eyes! Right in front of my eyes! The fuck? How could I miss it?"

**"There you go," Mason said. "She was his guardian."**

**"It doesn't say what 'shadow-kissed' means."**

"It means that-" Adrian started but I cut him off.

"We know what 'shadow kissed' means!"

**"Probably doesn't mean anything."**

**Something in me didn't believe that. I read it again, trying to make sense of the old-fashioned language.**

"It's not old-fashioned, Roza," said Dimitri, smiling amused.

"Yes, it is! Does anyone talk like this nowadays? No! So, it's old-fashioned."

**Mason watched me curiously, looking like he very much wanted to help.**

**"Maybe they were hooking up," he suggested.**

My friends cracked up laughing, while Dimitri and the others were shaking their heads, even though Dimitri wore an amused smile.

**I laughed. "He was a _saint.__"_**

**"So? Saints probably like sex too. That 'brother and sister' stuff is probably a cover." He pointed to one of the lines. "See? They were 'bound' together." He winked. "It's code."**

"But Lissa and Rose are 'bound' together too," said Adrian, tapping his chin. "That, from Mason's perspective, means …. OH GOD!" he looked at me and Lissa with a horrified expression.

Me and Lissa rolled out eyes.

**Bound. It was a weird word choice, but that didn't necessarily mean Anna and Vladimir were ripping each other's clothes off.**

"Of course not!" said Stan. "You kids nowadays have such a perverted mind. When I was your age," me, Lissa, Christian, Adrian, Eddie and Mia groaned, "I didn't even know what sex was."

"I'm sure you never experienced before, Stan. Who would want to hook up with you?" I asked, looking at him with a disgusted look.

His face turned red. "MISS HATHAWAY!"

**"I don't think so. They're just close. Guys and girls can just be friends." I said it pointedly, and he gave me a dry look.**

**"Yeah? _We're_friends, and I don't know what's in your 'heart and mind.'" Mason put on a fake philosopher's look. "Of course, some might argue that one can never know what's in the heart of a woman—"**

**"Oh, shut up," I groaned, punching him in the arm.**

**"For they are strange and mysterious creatures," he continued in his scholarly voice, "and a man must be a mind reader if he ever wishes to make them happy."**

**I started giggling uncontrollably and knew I'd probably get in trouble again. "Well, try to read my mind and stop being such a—"**

**I stopped laughing and looked back down at the book.**

"Uh, oh," said Adrian. "I wonder what Rose had seen."

**Bound together and _always knows what is in his heart and mind__._**

**They had a bond, I realized.**

"Woah, you're slow," said Eddie, shaking his head.

"Hey! I bet you wouldn't have found out either."

**I would have bet everything I owned—which wasn't much—on it. The revelation was astonishing. There were lots of vague stories and myths about how guardians and Moroi 'used to have bonds.' But this was the first I'd ever heard of anyone specific that it had happened to.**

**Mason had noticed my startled reaction. "You okay? You look kind of weird."**

**I shrugged it off. "Yeah. Fine."**

"That was the end of the chapter," said Christian. "Who wants to read next?"

I extended my hand. "Christian, give me the book," he did, and then I chucked it to Adrian, hitting him in the face. "Ivashkov. Read!"

He groaned. "Fine, fine. Chapter seven."

* * *

**FINALLY! IT'S DONE! God, it took me so long.**

**What do you guys think? Please REVIEW!**

**Again, sorry for the long wait.**

**~R**


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